Nikolaj Omersa (3 December 1911 – 3 December 1981) was a Slovene painter and illustrator.

Biography

Omersa was born in

Idrija Idrija (, in older sources ''Zgornja Idrija''; german: (Ober)idria, it, Idria) is a town in western Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Idrija. It is located in the traditional region of Inner Carniola and is in the Gorizia Statisti ...

in 1911. He graduated from the Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts in 1937. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

he was interred in Dachau Mittelbau-Dora and Ravensbrück concentration camps. After the war he taught in Ljubljana and was professor at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design from 1954 to 1973. He received the Prešeren Foundation Award in 1969 for an exhibition of his work in

Nova Gorica A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramat ...

the previous year, and the Grand Prešeren Award in 1978 for his lifetime achievement. He also won the

Levstik Award The Levstik Award ( sl, Levstikova nagrada) is a literary award in Slovenia awarded for achievements in children's literature. It has been bestowed since 1949 by the Mladinska Knjiga Publishing House, making it the first literary award established ...

for his illustrations three times: in 1950 for his illustrations of Milan Šega's collection of stories '' Zgodbe o živalih'' (Stories about Animals), in 1955 for his illustrations of a Hungarian folk tale ''Zajčkov zvonček'' (Bunny's Bell) and in 1959 for three books - ''Skrivnostni jezdec'' (The Mysterious Rider) by

Zane Grey Pearl Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author and dentist. He is known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American fronti ...

, ''Pisani svet'' (Colourful World) by

France Bevk France Bevk () (17 September 1890 – 17 September 1970) was a Slovene writer, poet and translator. He also wrote under the pseudonym Pavle Sedmak. Biography Bevk was born in the mountain village of Zakojca (Coizza during Italian rule, now p ...

and ''Pogumni kapitani'' (Captains Courageous) by

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

References

Slovenian male painters Slovenian illustrators People from Idrija 1911 births 1981 deaths Levstik Award laureates Prešeren Award laureates Academy of Fine Arts, University of Zagreb alumni Academic staff of the University of Ljubljana 20th-century Slovenian painters 20th-century Slovenian male artists {{slovenia-artist-stub