Painter. Member of the Union of Artists of the USSR.
Honored Artist of the RSFSR, People's Artist of the RSFSR (1980), Honored Artist of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (1982), Laureate of the State Prize of the Ukrainian SSR named after T. G. Shevchenko for the drama “Battle for the Dnieper” (1979), one of the leading masters of the Studio of Military Artists them. B. M. Grekova. Awarded the gold medal to them. M.B. Grekov for participating in the recreation of the panorama of Franz Roubaud "Battle of Borodino" (1968). Winner of the Vital Needla Prize of Czechoslovakia for the series of paintings "Slovak National Uprising" (1972). He was also awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor (1975) and the Red Star (1986), the Medal of Honor of the Soviet Peace Fund for participating in the creation of the panorama "Battle of Stalingrad" (1982), he was awarded a diploma of the Academy of Arts of the USSR for the series of paintings "Heroic Sea infantry". Honorary Citizen of the Hero City of Kerch.
Born on the farm Pogozh Krinitsa, Romny district, Sumy region. In 1934 he moved with his family to Taganrog, where he subsequently survived the fascist occupation during the Great Patriotic War.
From 13-14 years old he began to draw. He experienced a special craving for the image of historical battles.
In 1945-1949 he studied at the Rostov Art College, where he worked on his first triptych “The struggle of the Ukrainian people for reunification with Russia. 1648-1644 ”. After graduating from college, he left for Moscow, where he continued his studies at an art institute. The end of his studies marked the creation of a huge battle canvas (1953-1957), which was dedicated to the feat of the defenders of the Brest Fortress.
During his studies, N. Ya. Booth was fond of drama. At the same time, after college, he entered not only the Moscow State Academic Art Institute named after V.I. Surikova, but also at GITIS. However, between acting and painting, the artist chose the latter, although later he could not answer why. Six years later, as a student at the Kharkov Art Institute, he took part in a reader competition, a victory in which made it possible to participate in the Moscow World Festival of Youth and Students (1956). He won not only at the level of the region and the republic, but also got on the final all-Union tour in Moscow, where he took second place and received a silver medal. As a result of this competition, N. Ya. Booth was separately invited to the Kiev Academic Theater. I.Franko.
Nevertheless, the artist did not change his recognition. His thesis on the defenders of the Brest Fortress was noticed and recommended for the exhibition "40 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR." The author of the canvas was noted and invited to the Studio of Military Artists named after M. B. Grekova (1958).
Just at that time, changes were outlined in the Studio. Large-scale experiments were put in the field of monumental art. New ways of depicting the war with its fundamentally new ways of organizing the battle, expressing the enormous feat of the Soviet people were required. Therefore, artists were looking for appropriate forms of artistic solutions. The result of creative searches was the use of diorama-panoramic art, already tested earlier in the experience of F. Roubot
N. Ya. Booth took part in the creation of the first Soviet panorama "The Battle of Stalingrad" (1958-1982), for which he was subsequently awarded the Medal of Honor of the Soviet Peace Fund. Along with him, work on the panorama was attended by such battle artists as V. K. Dmitrievsky, T. I. Zhigimont, P. T. Maltsev, G. I. Marchenko, M. I. Samsonov, F. P. Usypenko . Military consultants actively helped artists: Marshals of the Soviet Union A. I. Eremenko, V. I. Chuykov, N. I. Krylov and others.
In the 60s, N. Ya. But took part in the restoration of the panorama "Battle of Borodino", which was opened in honor of the heroes of the war of 1812.
(Source: Wikipedia)
