Yannis Spyropoulos (1912-1990)

Yannis Spyropoulos was born in Pylos, Messinia. He studied at the Athens School of Fine Arts. In 1938, after a juried competition, he was granted a scholarship from the Athens Academy of Sciences to continue his studies in Paris. He studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts and at various Free Academies. He returned to Greece in 1940 and he particapated in many international and local group and one-man exhibitions in Greece and other countries. Some of these are:

• An exhibition at the World House Galleries in New York (1959)
• Participation in the 30th Biennale of Venice (1960)
• An exhibition at the Neue Gallerie im Kuenstlerhaus in Munich - Germany (1962)
• His participation in Documenta III in Kassel - Germany (1964)
• An one-man exhibition at the National Collection of Fine Arts - Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC (1969)

He was honoured with the UNESCO award at the 30th Biennale of Venice, with the Gottfried von Herder award of Vienna University and the highest decoration of the Hellenic State (Taxiarchis tou Phinikos).