Leonardo da Vinci World Award of Arts 2001
Area of Work: Painter
Date: 21 November 2001
Place of Ceremony: Aula Academiegebow
Host Institution: The Utrecht University
Host Country: Utrecht, The Netherlands
Utrecht, The Netherlands, November 2001. The World Cultural Council presented the 2001 Leonardo da Vinci World Award of Arts to Edna Hibel, who has often been referred to as the USA’s most versatile artist, as well as its best colorist. The Award Ceremony took place at Utrecht, The Netherlands, hosted by Utrecht University.
The Leonardo da Vinci World Award of Arts has been established as a means of acknowledgement to those who endeavour to create different expressions of art. It is conferred on those whose work constitutes a significant contribution to the artistic legacy of the world.
Edna Hibel was selected as the recipient of this Award in recognition of her artistic and humanitarian accomplishments, along with her creative and innovative additions to the artistic legacy of the world. It is a prize offered to Edna Hibel for her many years of productive and creative work, which have established her as a leading authority on oil painting, watercolor, and the vast majority of expressions in plastic
Edna Hibel was born in Massachusetts in 1917. Her talent was encouraged and first developed under the direction of Gregory Michaels. She went on to study with the renowned Russian and German masters, Alexander Yakovlev and Karl Zerbe at the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts.
Since 1940, Hibel’s exhibitions in pre-eminent galleries, museums, government buildings and royal residences have been held in more than twenty countries on four continents. She was the first foreign woman to have an exhibition in The People’s Republic of China, the former Soviet Union and former Yugoslavia. She is founder of the Boston Art Festival.
For more than 70 years, Edna Hibel has been practicing and improving upon her artistic abilities to extend the traditions of the Renaissance and the Impressionists into modern life.
Among her dozens of awards are a Medal of Honor and Citation from Pope Paul II, as well as a Medal of Honor from the late King Baudouin of Belgium. She was the first person other than U.S. presidents to receive a Presidential Award.
