George Smirnoff

George Smirnoff (1903-1947) was a Russian architect famous in Shanghai and Hong Kong. During the War of Resistance against Japan, he fled with his family from Hong Kong to Macao where he lived in one of the buildings in Pátio das Seis Casas. Though they lived in a small and simple second-floor room, they found it an unforgettable experience. When the family became better off, they moved to a building at No. 2 Rua da Prata, close to Pátio das Seis Casas.

During his stay in Macao, George Smirnoff found a job at the St. Luiz Gonzaga College working as an art teacher. This job provided him with a stable life. He designed the invitation letter for a collective exhibition of works by teachers and students held from 20 to 23 December 1944, at the St. Luiz Gonzaga College. This letter is now included in the collection of the National Library of Australia, and an autograph book is available for the audience of this exhibit. Apart from teaching, George Smirnoff also engaged in stage design, receiving praise from Portuguese and English newspapers and publications. He once worked as a theatre director and actor, and played a role in “O Big Player”. He also designed the logo for the Portuguese newspaper O Clarim.

George Smirnoff’s artistic talent was recognised by senior officials in Macao. In order to help him solve his financial problems and for the city to keep an array of high-quality watercolours from this painter, the Macao government ordered 63 watercolour paintings from George Smirnoff that featured local landscapes, a large number of which were depictions of the Parish of São Lourenço. Though the influence of George Smirnoff upon Macao is not comparable to that of George Chinnery, his art teaching had inspired a number of contemporary painters in Macao, and he has been honoured as Father of Contemporary Art of Macao. In the wake of the War of Resistance against Japan, George Smirnoff left Macao and settled in Hong Kong where he committed suicide in 1947.