Pelaheia Andriivna Raiko (née Soldatova; Ukrainian: Пелагея Андріївна Райко; 5 May 1928 - 15 January 2004), also spelled Rayko, was a Ukrainian naïve painter who started painting her property at the age of 69. Her home was a national cultural monument of Ukraine, until June 2023, when it was reportedly destroyed by flooding after the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Polina Raiko | |
|---|---|
| Born | Pelaheia Andriivna Raiko 5 May 1928 Oleshky, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Died | 15 January 2004 (aged 75) |
| Style | Naïve art |
| Children | 2 |
Biography edit
Raiko was born 5 May 1928 in Oleshky.[1] She had three sisters.[2] She was deported to Germany during the Second World War,[3] but later returned to Ukraine before marrying Nikolay Alekseyevich Raiko in 1950 at the age of 22.[4] They survived by growing their own fruits and vegetables and doing seasonal work on a kolkhoz.[5] They had a daughter, Elena in 1951. Their son, Sergey was born in 1953. The family built a house on 74 Nyzhnia Street, Oleshky near the Chaika and Konka rivers in 1954.[4][1]
Her husband and son abused alcohol.[5] Her son was imprisoned for three years after he nearly destroyed the family home and sold stolen items including the electrical wiring. After his release, he stabbed his mother with a knife. In 1994, Elena died in a car accident. Raiko's husband died in 1995. In 1997, Sergey was sent to a refuge colony.[4] He died in 2002 from cirrhosis.[1]
In the autumn of 1998, she began painting her home as a method to process her family hardships. She used her ₴74 monthly pension to buy paint and brushes. She eventually painted the entire property. Her home became a local tourist attraction. She died on 15 January 2004.[4]
Her grandson sold her house for US$5,000 to Andrius Nemickas, a Canadian living in Kyiv with his Ukrainian wife.[5] Her house was protected by a federal cultural heritage law.[6] It was considered a national cultural monument of Ukraine.[5]
Inspired by Raiko's paintings during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, pro-Ukrainian activists in Russian-occupied Kherson used a dove as a symbol of cultural resistance.[7]
Her house was destroyed in June 2023, by flooding following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam.[8][9]
References edit
- ^ a b c Rudenko, Eugene; Sarakhman, Eldar (30 October 2020). "Поліна Райко та її наївне мистецтво – таємниці розмальованої хати в Олешках". Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 13 March 2022.
- ^ "Мальований світ Поліни Райко" [Painted world of Polina Raiko] (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 16 July 2017.
- ^ "Ukrainian artist depicted his fate on the walls of the house". The MiceTimes of Asia. 29 June 2018. Archived from the original on 12 March 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Rayko Polina". artkavun.kherson.ua. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
- ^ a b c d Danilevskaya, Julia (30 April 2020). "Рай у чотирьох стінах: будинок Поліни Райко заслуговує стати музеєм". vgoru.org (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 13 March 2022.
- ^ "Райко Пелагея Андріївна. Віртуальний проект "Краєзнавство Таврії". ХОУНБ ім. О. Гончара". krai.lib.kherson.ua. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
- ^ "Kherson diary: 'The poultry all had to be slaughtered. Now the city smells of chicken soup'". the Guardian. 12 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
- ^ "Devastating dam collapse in Ukraine has apparently flooded house museum of late artist Polina Rayko". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
- ^ "Artist's home, a Ukrainian national monument, 'destroyed' in dam floods". Artreview. Retrieved 9 June 2023.