Pavel
Petrovich Leonov

Born in 1920 in the village of Volot in Orel region. In the late 1930s went to the city to work. Worked in factories, chopping wood, repairing the ships, built roads, a carpenter, a plasterer, a Builder, a tinsmith, a painter, a designer. Lived in Orel, in the Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Uzbekistan. Since 1975 lives in the Ivanovo region. Since childhood, dreamed of becoming an artist. He studied by Correspondence at the national University of arts in Moscow, the M. A. Roginsky. After a break of fifteen years begins to paint. Domestic and foreign experts consider it one of the brightest representatives of Russian naive art. His name is included in the world encyclopedia of naive art (Belgrade, 1984). Participant of all-Union and all-Russian exhibitions of the 70s-80s, conceptual expositions of the 90s. In 1997 at the International exhibition of naive art "INSITA" in Bratislava (Slovakia) won the Grand Prix. At the next festival "INSITA-2000" was presented his solo exhibition. In the same year, at the 6th International competition of naive art "Gallerie pro art Kasper" in Switzerland, won the Grand Prix. Member of traveling exhibitions of the Museum of naive art:"Pushkin's images in creativity of naive artists of Russia" (1999), "And I saw a new heaven" (2001). Participant of Moscow international festival of naive art and outsider art "Festnaiv - 2004" and "Festnaiv - 2007". Works are in the Vladimir-Suzdal Museum-reserve, the State Russian house of folk art, the State Museum-reserve "Tsaritsyno", Museum of naive art in Moscow, private collections in Russia and abroad.

(Source: website of the Museum of naive art)