Miscellaneous 1967–1977

Yannis Pappas (1913–2005) was born in Constantinople, the son of the surgeon Alexandros Pappas and Eleni F. Fotiadi. He arrived in Athens in 1922 following the Asia Minor Catastrophe, after a brief stay by his family in Corfu. He later moved to Paris, where he continued his studies at the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts and exhibited his works. In 1935, he created a bust of the painter Andreas Vourloumis, whilst the following year he unveiled a life-size statue of the sculptor Christos Kapalos. In 1937, he was awarded the Gold Medal at the Paris International Exhibition, after which he created a statue of the painter Yannis Moralis and completed the model for the statue of Adamantios Korais before returning to Greece to serve his military service. In December 1944, he enlisted in the Royal Navy, serving in the Higher Naval Command in Alexandria.

In Alexandria, where he remained until 1951, he had the opportunity to study the monuments of Egyptian art in Cairo and Upper Egypt, as well as to create works inspired by the people and the great art of Egypt. His works include the marble statue of Eleftherios Venizelos, a statue of Evangelos Papanoutsos, statues of Georgios Karaiskakis, Evangelos Averoff Tositsas, Pantelis Prevelakis, General Makrygiannis, Ion Dragoumis, a statue of Odysseas Elytis, and others. In the 1970s, Yannis Pappas represented Greece at the Venice Biennale and in 1980 was elected a full member of the Academy of Athens, whilst in 1992 the National Gallery organised a retrospective exhibition of the sculptor’s work. He died in Athens on 17 January 2005.