Last Updated on 12 hours ago by Vijay Kumar
Shalva Bedoyev, the renowned Soviet and Russian painter, teacher and academician, has died at the age of 85. He passed away on October 4, 2026, according to information reported by TASS, citing the North Ossetian State University named after K. L. Khetagurov, where Bedoyev had headed the Department of Fine Arts.
Artist Shalva Bedoyev Passes Away; Body Found in Studio About a Month After Death, Mash Claims
Employees of the Artists’ Union discovered the deceased People’s Artist Shalva Bedoyev on October 4 in his Moscow studio on Tverskaya-Yamskaya, according to Mash. Bedoyev was 85 years old.
The channel reports that, according to preliminary data, death occurred about a month ago.
The Moscow Union of Artists has not reported Bedoyev’s death, but today it published a warning about inspections of city-owned studios to verify their proper use. The inspection will take place in 2027, but the union has already created its own commission to check the studios.
In August of this year, "Caucasian Knot" reported that artists in Vladikavkaz appealed to Alexander Bastrykin asking to protect them from eviction from their studios on Kirov Street, where Bedoyev, among others, worked. According to them, the premises, granted to the Artists’ Union for indefinite free use, were privatized in 2013 using forged documents; the legal proceedings lasted 13 years and ended in a victory, which, however, was overturned by the cassation court. At the same time, back in 2020, Bedoyev thanked the then-head of North Ossetia, Vyacheslav Bitarov, for his help in returning these studios to the artists.In 2024, Bedoyev’s works were featured at the "Art to Our Own" exhibition and sale at the National Museum of North Ossetia. The artist was named among the participants of the exhibition by the head of the region, Sergey Menyailo, who urged people to buy the works, "thereby making a contribution to supporting our fighters."
Photo: Russian Academy of Arts, "Daryall" magazine
— Sota News (@sotanews) October 4, 2026
Bedoyev was widely recognized as one of the important figures in modern Ossetian and Russian painting. He was honored with the title of People’s Artist of the Russian Federation in 2019.
Shalva Evgenyevich Bedoyev was born in 1940 in South Ossetia. He studied at the Ilya Repin Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in Leningrad and graduated in 1969. His teacher was the prominent Soviet artist Yevsey Moiseyenko.
Bedoyev became a member of the Union of Artists of the USSR in 1971 and began participating in major exhibitions in the early 1970s. He later became a member of the Union of Artists of Russia.
Alongside his artistic career, Bedoyev devoted much of his life to teaching. From 1981, he headed the Department of Fine Arts at North Ossetian State University named after K. L. Khetagurov. He also served as chairman of the board of the Union of Artists of North Ossetia-Alania from 2000 to 2005.
His artistic work covered portraits, landscapes, still lifes and large-scale compositions. Ossetian history, culture, mythology and traditions became important themes in his paintings. Among his notable works are Grape Harvest, Ossetian Tale, Youth, Golden Apple, Afsati and works from his Amazons series.
Bedoyev’s paintings were exhibited in Russia and internationally, including exhibitions in Moscow, Paris, Stavropol and Tskhinval. His works are held in collections including the State Russian Museum, the Russian Academy of Arts Museum and other Russian and international collections.
His honors included the title of People’s Artist of the Russian Federation in 2019, the title of Honored Artist of Russia in 1988, and the Medal of the Order “For Merit to the Fatherland,” II degree. He became a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Arts in 2001 and an academician in 2007.
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