Otis Ball with Gypsy and Simon Painting

Leonid Gervits graduated from the National Academy of Fine Arts, Repin Institute, in St. Petersburg, Russia, where his mastery of art was honed by deep-rooted European traditions of figurative art. After postgraduate studies, he became a professor at the Repin Institute of the Academy of Fine Arts. In 1991, Mr. Gervits moved to the United States. He has exhibited widely around the world from Japan to Spain. His work is in numerous private and international collections in France, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, Japan and the United States. His work is also in many public collections, including the National Academy of Fine Arts (St. Petersburg), the State Art Museum and the Pushkin Museum (both in Odessa, Ukraine), and the Pushkin Preserve-Museum (Pskov region, Russia)— altogether in thirteen museums throughout Russia and Ukraine. Mr. Gervits is represented by the Lackey Street Gallery (Key West, Florida) and Portrait South, Inc. (Raleigh, North Carolina), among others. He currently is on the faculty of the Art Students League in New York City.