Nikolaj Omersa

Nikolaj Omersa was a Slovene painter and illustrator.

Biography

Omersa was born in Idrija in 1911. He graduated from the Academy of [Fine Arts, University of Zagreb|Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts] in 1937. During the Second World War 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, Ljubljana|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 the previous year, and the Grand Prešeren Award in 1978 for his lifetime achievement.
He also won the Levstik Award for his illustrations three times: in 1950 for his illustrations of Milan Šega's collection of stories Zgodbe o živalih, in 1955 for his illustrations of a Hungarian folk tale Zajčkov zvonček and in 1959 for three books - Skrivnostni jezdec by Zane Grey, Pisani svet by France Bevk and Pogumni kapitani by Rudyard Kipling.