Maestro Igor Babailov, world-renowned American portrait artist to three Popes, world leaders, presidents, and prime ministers, Fortune 500 CEOs, Noble Prize Laureates, royalty, celebrities, and distinguished individuals, was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor from the Ellis Island Honors Society (EIHS) 35th Anniversary at Ellis Island on May 15, 2022, in NYC. He was selected for his outstanding leadership and achievements in arts and culture and philanthropic and humanitarian contributions to our nation. The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have officially recognized the Ellis Island Medals of Honor, and each year the recipients are listed in the Congressional Record. To see the full list of 2022 recipients, click here.
According to EIHS chairman Nasser Kazeminy, in his opening remarks: This year’s distinguished medalists come from a range of industries and backgrounds. We honor them not for where they came from but for what they bring to our great nation. Each of them represents a thread from which the fabric of this great nation is woven. A fabric rich in color and diversity and incapable of being torn apart.
Igor Babailov, Hon.RAA, KStA, MFA(PhD), D.Litt. (Hon. Causa) is a world-renowned American portraitist, Honorary Academician of the Russian Academy of Arts (est.1757) and one of the most sought-after portrait artists today. Knighted Chevalier of the Order of St. Anne, he is a Distinguished Fellow at Catholic University of America and received an Honorary Doctorate from Cumberland University.
He has painted over 2,000 commissioned portraits, including Presidents, Prime Ministers, royalty, and three Popes for the Vatican. His George Washington portrait hangs in Mount Vernon Museum. The Vatican Curator acknowledged Babailov as Maestro for his portrait of Pope Benedict XVI, selected by the Pope for the Vatican Splendors Museum Tour, where it hung alongside the works of Michelangelo, Giotto, Bernini, and other Renaissance Masters. He was the only living artist in the exhibition. Other honors include the Vatican Pontifical Medal, George Washington Presidential Coin; Award for Excellence from General David Petraeus and the Joe DiMaggio Official Major League Baseball Award presented at Yankee Stadium.
Maestro Babailov’s philanthropic endeavors support children’s health, STEM for kids of diversity, special needs, veterans with PTSD, and other causes. He is a scholar, philosopher, master teacher, author, and is also known for his original grand-scale multi-figure masterworks such as his soon-to-be-released humanitarian epic painting, MERCY. His mid-south studio is in Nashville, TN.
