Born Free

Location: main building / Floor 2/Second-floor hall

In 2021, we celebrate the anniversary of the remarkable animalist sculptor Boris (Isayah) Yakovlevich Vorobyov (1911 - 1990). The artist is primarily famous as an author of expressive animalistic porcelain. From 1936 to 1971 B. Ya. Vorobyov worked at the Lomonosov Porcelain Factory (LFZ). The factory still massively produces many of the sculptor's works that are sold all over the world. B. Ya. Vorobyov portrayed proud, freedom-loving animals: tigers and bears full of dignity, golden eagles, leopards and deer.

Being a master of the animalistic genre, Vorobyov always aspired to create expressive and monumental images. In 1956-1957 he worked on the monumental sculpture "Elk", which was cast in bronze and installed in Monchegorsk in 1958 (architect S.Ye. Brovtsev). The sculpture has become a city symbol.

After leaving the Lomonosov Porcelain Factory in 1972, B.Ya. Vorobyov took up indoor wood sculpture and started working with his favorite natural material. Over the years, he has created many remarkable works that currently adorn the Darwin Museum collection.

Boris Yakovlevich Vorobyov suffered a severe stroke in 1980. Unfortunately, he never fully recovered. Bound to a wheelchair, he worked from memory with his only active left hand and expressed on paper a whole gallery of animalistic images that overwhelmed his soul. These last works serve as a monument to his courage, summing up the life of this amazingly talented, bright and strong man.

The exhibition features graphic and sculptural works from the State Darwin Museum collection.

Boris (Isayah) Yakovlevich Vorobyov ( November 6, 1911, Tomsk – April 25, 1990, Saint Petersburg)

B.Ya.Vorobyov. Alarmed tiger

B.Ya.Vorobyov. Airedale Terrier (playing fox terrier)

B.Ya.Vorobyov. Hippopotamus

B.Ya.Vorobyov. Elephant

B.Ya.Vorobyov. Manul

B.Ya.Vorobyov. Calf

B.Ya.Vorobyov. Grazing foal