Gershanik, Roman Vasilievich

Roman Vasilievich Gershanik was a Soviet painter, graphic artist, and illustrator. Gershanik received his secondary education in Yelizavetgrad, and in 1915, graduated from the First Yelizavetgrad Commercial School. In 1916, he moved to Moscow where he enrolled in the Komissarov Technical School (a.k.a. Moscow Polytechnic Institute). In Moscow, Gershanik began his formal artistic studies in 1917 at the studio of Ilia Mashkov, noted Russian painter and founder of the artistic association, Jack of Diamonds. Thereafter, Gershanik studied at VKhUTEMAS (Higher Art and Technical Studios) in Moscow where he graduated in 1926. For a period of his life, the artist lived in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR.

From 1918 to 1922, the artist travelled to Vladivostok and Manchuria, China. During the trip, Gershanik made sketches and drawings. In 1921, the artist’s works were reportedly shown at an exhibition in Harbin, China. From 1919 to 1923 he worked as a set designer and actor in Vladivostok. Gershanik also served as an artist and a correspondent for the newspaper "Komsomolskaia Pravda" during the mid-1920s. In 1929, he took part in an expedition by Aleksandr Evgen'evich Fersman (Soviet geochemist and mineralogist) that traveled along the Ashgabat-Khiva River through Turkmenistan.

The artist began to exhibit work professionally in 1921. He participated in the following exhibitions: “First Traveling Exhibition of Paintings and Graphics”, (1929, Moscow) organized by the People's Commissariat of Education; “Exhibition of Graphic Arts, Poster and Book Design”, (1930, Danzig); "Anti-Imperialist Exhibition", (1931, Moscow); “The Poster in the Service of the Five-Year Plan”, (1932, Moscow), an All-Union exhibition; “Fifteen Years of Artists of the RSFSR”, (1933-1934, Moscow); “15 Years of the Red Army” (1933, Moscow); “Socialist Moscow in the Works of Moscow Artists” (1957, Moscow); “40 Years of the Komsomol”, (1958, Moscow), an All-Union exhibition; various Moscow exhibitions in 1934, 1954, 1956, 1957, and Moscow All-Union art exhibitions of 1946, 1947, 1955, 1957 and 1958. The artist also held solo exhibitions in Moscow in 1930 and in 1959, and in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, in 1944.

Some of Gershanik’s poster designs include: "For International Solidarity!", “1st of May” and “Komsomol - to the ranks of MOPR!" (all 1930); “Our Answer to the Pope” (1931); "Our Cause is Just -- the Enemy Will Be Defeated!" (1941); and, "Agronomists! Organize the Fight for Higher Yields!" (1955). Gershanik often co-designed posters with the artist Nikolai Mikhailov. In addition to poster design, Gershanik illustrated books.

During the Second World War, Roman Gershanik worked in the offices of the TASS (Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union) artist studio where he created patriotic and propaganda posters for the war effort. In the post-war era, he was engaged in painting and graphic art. He collaborated with the magazines Smena (Seed) and Pioneer. In addition, Gershanik painted works such as: "On a Mountain Meadow" (1946), "Dunino Collective Farm" (1947), "Near Moscow" (1947), "Spring Morning" (1949), "At Training" (1952), "Pioneers at Dinamo Stadium" (1955), and other titles.

Roman Gershanik was bestowed the title of “Honored Artist of the Uzbek SSR” in 1944. He was a member of AKhRR (Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia) and a member of the Union of Artists of the USSR.