Marian Kropyvnytskyi was born on September 8, 1903 in the village Cherepashyntsi, Kalynivka raion, Vinnytsia oblast. In 1921, he graduated from the 7-class school. During 1922-1923, he continued his studies in Vinnytsia at the school of painting of Stepan Slobodianiuk-Podolian, who also co-organized the National Museum of Fine Arts in Vinnytsia. In 1925, Marian Kropyvnytskyi entered the Kyiv Art Institute, where he studied at the Faculty of Pedagogy under the supervision of Pavlo Holubiatnikov, the pupil of the famous painter Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin. Upon his graduation in 1929-1930, Kropyvnytskyi worked as an assistant at the Kyiv Art Institute. Between 1928 and 1930 he was the personal assistant of Kazimir Malevich at the Institute.
In 1930, he organized preparation courses for the workers willing to study at the Institute, and taught them a painting course. At the same time he was an assistant of the artist Kazymyr Malevych, who taught formal-technical disciplines at the Institute. In October 1930, Kropyvnytskyi was fired from the Institute, upon which he joined the All-Ukrainian Association of Proletarian Painters. In 1931-1941, Marian Kropyvnytskyi had a membership in the Kyiv committee of painters and worked on contracts. In 1932, he joined
aspirantura (doctoral programme) at the All-Ukrainian History Museum. In 1936, he participated in the exhibition of works by the Soviet painters of Polish origin in Moscow. He also took part in several small exhibitions of the Kyiv department of the All-Ukrainian Association of Proletarian Artists as well as in the exhibition entitled “The Blossoming Ukraine,” in 1937. In 1942-1943, in the village Iablunivka of Bila Tserkva raion, he made icons for the iconostasis, church banners and many other things. In 1944-1947, he worked as a sailor at the river сraft in Kyiv. He served in the army during the World War II and worked as a civilian afterwards. Marian Kropyvnytskyi did not join the Painters’ Union, created in 1957. In other words, the artist found himself outside the system and became an outcast. Marian Kropyvnytskyi did not belong to any organization, which could testify that he worked at home. Thus, he had no job, no workshop, no salary and no pension. In 1962-1973, he was a member of the photography club, experimenting with photos and slides. He had a dream to exhibit his paintings in Kremenets and Vinnytsia as well as in Poland. As a connoisseur of Polish and Ukrainian culture and history, Kropyvnytskyi studied the monuments of Ukraine. Together with his daughter, he visited cities and villages as well as castles and fortresses connected with the history of the Polish borderlands. Marian Kropyvnytskyi created an in-home library of Polish literature and fine arts. Kropyvnytskyi painted with oils, though in some of his works he used watercolour, pastel, pencil and charcoal. His works include portraits, still life paintings, and landscapes among other things. Marian Kropyvnytskyi died on August 16, 1989. He was buried at the “Lisove” cemetery in Kyiv.
