Prominent Azerbaijani and Russian artist, theatrical designer, pedagogue, vice president of Russian Academy of Arts, People`s Artist of the USSR, hero of Socialist Labor, holder of state prizes Tahir Salahov celebrates his 90th anniversary today.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Azerbaijan’s First Vice-President, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, UNESCO and ISESCO Goodwill Ambassador Mehriban Aliyeva congratulated Tahir Salahov on his birthday.
Ilham Aliyev made a phone call to Tahir Salahov today. The head of state praised the activity of prominent representative of the contemporary art school of Azerbaijan and congratulated him on receiving 'Labor' Order 1st Class. Tahir Salahov thanked Ilham Aliyev for the phone call and congratulations, as well as expressed his deep gratitude to the head of state for awarding him 'Labor' Order. The president wished Tahir Salahov the best of health and new successes in his activities.
Soviet and Azerbaijani pianist, composer Farhad Badalbeyli, speaking to Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that Tahir Salahov's contribution in developing Azerbaijani art is enormous. "He is one of the creators of the severe style of socialist realism, being an outstanding artist of the 20th century. I love and respect him very much, especially because he created an indescribable portrait of great Azerbaijani composer Kara Karayev. In addition, he created portraits of many great people, for example Fikret Amirov and Maksud Ibrahimbekov. He is the greatest painter and chronicler of our history. It’s great that he is in good shape, holds exhibitions at 90 years and looks great. I wish him a very log life and have no doubt that we will celebrate his 100th jubilee," he said.
Russian director Yuli Gusman also congratulated Tahir Salahov on his birthday, describing his as "energetic and full of enthusiasm, a classic of Azerbaijani, Soviet and Russian art." "I grew up in the era of Salakhov, He is my friend, I love his paintings, I often see him and his charming wife Varya. He is a wonderful person, kind, sympathetic, calm and, at the same time, principled and sharp when it comes to the profanation of art. The point is not that he has the highest ranks in the country, both in Russia and Azerbaijan, or that his paintings are exhibited in the best museums in the world, or that he broke through the archaic traditional manner of Azerbaijani painters together with a group of like-minded people and reached a new level of understanding of a person in art and art in a person. The most important thing is that Tair Teymurovich expresses the people's soul through his art," he said.
"God gave him longevity, and I hope that he will keep us happy for a long time. I want to congratulate Tahir Teimurovich on my behalf, wish him a long life, productivity, and most importantly - he should know that millions of admirers and friends around the world love him," Yuli Gusman concluded.
Tahir Salahov is a Soviet, Azerbaijani and Russian painter and draughtsman. He studied at the Azimzade Art College in Baku in 1945–1950 and the Surikov Moscow Art Institute in 1951–1957. Salahov won an early recognition: his diploma work, The Shift is Over, was exhibited in 1957 at the Moscow All-Union Art Exhibition and received public and critical acclaim. He became one of the leading representatives of the so-called "severe style", a trend in Soviet art of the 1960s that aimed to set off a hard, publicist, realist view.
