Fayga Perla Krakowski, later known as Fayga Ostrower, received the Order of Cultural Merit from the Brazilian government in 1997 for her contributions to abstract expressionism. Her artistic career spanned decades, evolving from early secretarial work in Nilópolis to an international presence as a painter, graphic artist, and expert in the engraving process.
Early Life and Migration
Born in 1920 in Łódź, Poland, she moved with her family to Germany in 1921. Following difficulties with German authorities in the early 1930s, the family relocated to Belgium before emigrating to Brazil in 1934, where they settled in Nilópolis. She naturalized as a Brazilian citizen in 1951, having married the Marxist activist Heinz Ostrower a decade earlier.
Twenty questions, eight minutes on the clock, and a percentile measured against everyone who has taken it. No sign-up.
Take the IQ test →Training and Technical Development
Her formal art education began at the Fine Arts Association. In 1946, she enrolled at the Getúlio Vargas Foundation’s Brazilian Society of Fine and Graphic Arts, where she studied art history, wood engraving, and metal engraving. Her tutors included Anna Levy, Carlos Oswald, Tomás Santa Rosa, and Axel Leskoschek. Later, she honed her technical skills at Atelier 17 and participated in a 1955 stint at the New York studio of Stanley Hayter via a Fulbright Scholarship.
Academic and Institutional Roles
Beyond her creative output, she maintained an active academic career, lecturing in Critical Analysis and Composition at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro from 1954 to 1970. She also served on the faculty of the Slade School of Fine Art in London and Spelman College in Atlanta. Her administrative influence was felt through her presidency of the Brazilian Association of Arts and her leadership within the Brazilian committee of Unesco's International Society of Education Through Art.
Exhibitions and Legacy
Her work gained visibility through various international platforms, including the São Paulo Biennial, the Venice Biennial, and the Mexico Biennial. Her influence persisted long after her 2001 death in Rio de Janeiro, with her pieces held in institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Albertina Museum, and the Library of Congress. The Fayga Ostrower Institute was established in 2002 to preserve her documents and archive.
Fast facts
- Born: 1920, Łódź
- Died: 2001, Rio de Janeiro
- Citizenship: Poland, Brazil
- Movement: Abstract expressionism
- Fulbright Scholarship: 1955
- Order of Cultural Merit (Brazil): 1997
Questions readers ask
What subjects did Fayga Ostrower teach?
She lectured in composition and critical analysis at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro.
Where is her work held?
Her art is in collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Museum of Modern Art.
Achievements
- Order of Cultural Merit (Brazil) — 1997
- Movement: abstract expressionism
.jpg)