Gustav Likan, Yugoslavian (1912 - 1998)

Born in Yugoslavia in 1912, Gustav Likan early in life achieved international fame as an artist. He has long been noted in Europe for his portraits of royalty and heads of state.

A prodigy, Likan won early acclaim in academia. He flew through the years of required draftsmanship and human figure drawing in half the time. The Munich Academy of Fine Arts bestowed the special honor of Master Student upon Likan. He was given his own private studio and model. Considering the orthodoxy and conservatism of this institution, tthis stands as a tribute to genius discovered.

Likan studied restoration under the best European masters and spent Summers ..haunting the European museums, sketching and painting 10 to 14 hours a day.

Likan immigrated to South America and then to the United States, arriving in Chicago in 1957. He was immediately appointed to the staff of the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts as an instructor, where he taught until 1967. For the rest of his life, Professor Likan resided in Texas. He taught at the Laguna Gloria Museum in Austin.

Information provided by Carol Adamek