Wilhelm Mikhailovsky

Wilhelm Mikhailovsky (2nd of October 1942, Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainian SSR – 23rd of January 2018, Riga, Republic of Latvia)  – a photographic artist, winner of the World Press Photo (1988) and other awards. He participated in the filming process of the documentary "The Supreme Court: (director Herz Frank). He had created 8 collections of works, participated in over 300 exhibitions. It can be said, that Wilhelm Mikhailovsky "stopped thousand moments"– beautiful and sad.

He had been participating in exhibitions since 1971. All together, Mikhailovsky participated in more than 300 exhibitions in 50 countries (1971-1982), including 51 group exhibitions in 12 countries and 54 personal exhibitions in Riga and abroad - in 10 countries (1976-2010). He was awarded with more than 100 international photography awards, including PSA and FIAP golden medals, as well as NIEPCE medals (1974-1982). In 1979 he was the first Soviet photographer who received the honorary status EXCELLENCE EFIAP from the International Federation of Photographic Art.

From 1976 to 1996 Wilhelm Mikhailovsky had been cooperating with "Māksla" ("Art") magazine, from 1980 to 1982 with the newspapaer "Literatūra un māksla" ("Literature and Art"). In 1991-1995 he is a co-owner, a co-publisher and an art director of a weekly newspaper "Балтийская газета" ("The Baltic Newspaper"). Together with Herc Frank was a co-author of a documentary "Высший суд" ("The Supreme Court") (1987). The collection of photos, which Mikhailovsky created during the work on the film, in 1988 received the WORLD PRESS PHOTO award in Amsterdam. In 1989 for this film he received the state agio of the Latvian SSR. 

In 1991 he became a member of the professional union KODAK PRO. In 1996 W. Mikhailovsky received Martin Bucler award. In 2000 and 2002 his albums were awarded as the best art albums, published in Latvia. In 2007 he received the CICERON prize from the Latvian Academy of Sciences, and in 2010 he became a recepient of the Order of Three Stars - the supreme state award of Latvia. 

He created a great number of photoalbums, which were published in the USSR and Latvia, while his photos were published in different issues in the USA, Great Britain, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Latvia and Russia.  

His collections of photos are kept in different art and history museums in France, Switzerland and Latvia. 

Wilhelm Mikhailovsky died on 23rd of January 2018. 

The biography was compiled by Alexander Malnach 

Wilhelm Mikhailovsky: "We are the witnesses of our own age, and in creating our personal stories we are creating the history of mankind".

Photo: Self-Portrait with his Children, 1976.

Sources of information:

Александр Малнач. Вильгельм, как много в этом звуке...

Photos taken from: http://russpressphoto.ru/photographers/4352/portfolio/