Born in Shumen on 31.01.1876. died in Hamburg in 20.05.1960. Nikola Michailov (Michaliow, Michailoff) is one of the most important Bulgarian painters. He studied at the Academy of Fine arts in Munich, Germany in the period between 1896-1899 in the class of Otto Seitz and later took private lessons in Munich between 1900 and 1902 in the studio of Heinrich Knirr. Worked for a short period in Bulgaria until 1911, where he was teaching art and worked in the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture, after which he moved in Germany where he lived and worked until 1921. After Germany, he moved to Latin America (Brazil, Argentina and Chile) and between 1924 and 1930 in USA. In this period, he was regarded as “high-society” figure, mainly accompanied by famous movie stars and celebrities from New York and Berlin. He was famous for his portraits. After the war, he moved back to Germany, living in Hamburg, but also living in Stockholm, Australia, New York and Sao Paolo.
Nikola Michailov visited Macedonia in the period around 1918 where he made several oil paintings in the very colorful – Munich impressionistic style. These painting were later exhibited in Germany. Particularly the painting entitled as “Macedonian girl (“Makedonierin”) which was exhibited at the gallery “Keller & Reiner” in Berlin in January and February 1917 attracted many positive reactions from the art critics.
