Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika

Born in Athens in 1906, he studied with Vassilis Mayassis and Konstantinos Parthenis. He graduated from the Lycée Léonin in 1922 and enrolled in the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Athens, but soon abandoned his studies. He then moved to Paris, where he attended the Sorbonne, studying literature and aesthetics, and the Académie Ranson, where he pursued painting and printmaking. In 1927 he held his first solo exhibition at the Galerie Percier, and in the following year he exhibited in Athens for the first time at the Stratigopoulos Gallery. He participated in the exhibitions of Techni group (1930–31), in the Fourth International Congress of Modern Architecture (1933), and in the publication of the magazine "To Trito Mati" (The Third Eye, 1935–37). In 1941 he was appointed professor at the School of Architecture, National Technical University of Athens, a position he held until 1958. He presented numerous exhibitions in Greece and abroad, and in addition to painting he worked in sculpture, printmaking, book illustration, stage design, and art criticism. A founding member of AICA Hellas, he published many books and studies on art and architecture. In 1991 he donated his personal collection and his residence on Kriezotou Street to the Benaki Museum; it now houses a museum dedicated to his work. He died in Athens in 1994.