Academician Todor Stevanović Passed Away

It is with great regret that the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts announces the passing of Academician Todor Stevanović, who passed away at the age of 89 on 24 January 2026 in Belgrade. Born in Zalužnje, close to Leskovac, on 9 March 1937, he was one of our most prominent fine artists.

He completed art studies in 1963 in the class of Academician Đorđe Andrejević Kun. In 1967, he received his MA from the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade under the supervision of Academician Nedeljko Gvozdenović. Besides painting, he was active in drawing, graphic design, film, ceramics, mosaics, free media practices, art criticism, art theory, philosophy and literature.

From 1956 onward, he regularly had solo exhibitions and participated in art events both in the country and abroad. He represented Yugoslavia at the Venice Biennale in 1999. His works are kept and exhibited in the National Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Belgrade City Museum, as well as in numerous museums and galleries across the former Yugoslavia, England, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Australia, South America, the United States of America, Canada, Austria, Sweden and Russia.

In 2003, he was elected a SASA Corresponding Member, while in 2012, he became a full member. His exhibition titled ‘Todor M. Stevanović – Autobiography’ was held at the SASA Gallery in 2010. He created the eponymous catalogue for this occasion, which was translated into 15 languages.

He was a member of the Association of Fine Artists of Serbia (ULUS) and the Association of Writers of Serbia (UKS).

He received numerous awards and recognitions, including: the Award of the Artistic Autumn for a drawing at the Fourth Triennial of Contemporary Yugoslav Drawings (Sombor, 1972); the Ljubiša Jocić Award for the Todor drawing portfolio (Belgrade, 1981); the Golden Feather of Belgrade (1984); the Vuk’s Prize (1992); first prize for drawing at the exhibition Belgrade Drawings (1993); the Grand Prix at the exhibition Drawings and Small Plastics (1995); the October Salon Award (Belgrade, 1996); and the Lada Association Award (2012), among others. In 2010, he was nominated for the Kyoto Prize in the fields of arts and philosophy.

Academician Ljubomir Simović wrote ‘If it were possible to comprehend everything that Stevanović’s canvases summed up in signs and letters, emblems and formulas in one glance, we would understand that his powerful pictorial writing paints a saga about man’s search for himself in the universe, which is a unique entity and in which everything, including the greatest, is contained within everything else, including the smallest.’

His passing represents a great loss for the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, as well as for Serbian and world art and culture.