Roman Chatov

Roman Gregory Chatov (1900–1987) was a Russian-born American artist, painter, designer, and illustrator.

Life Roman Chatov was born in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, to a theater impresario and his wife. He began drawing in his teenage years, including doing magazine illustrations at age 16 and being a military-correspondent painter near the end of World War I. Chatov was first trained in art in Russia and Paris, France. Dancer Isadora Duncan expressed her admiration for his costume designs, and he painted a silk scarf for her, the scarf that led to her death when it became entangled in the wheel of a moving car.

While in New York, Chatov met many of the most prominent artists and painters in the area, including Willem de Kooning, with whom he shared studio space. Chatov married Geneva McCormack in 1942.

In his later years, he primarily painted portraits, and also opened an art studio in Atlanta with the help of his brother Constantin. Chatov received the Governor's Award from the Georgia Council for the Arts and Humanities in 1983. He died in 1987 at the age of 86 or 87. His son Marc Chatov (born in 1953) continues in his father's footsteps today by working as an artist and an art instructor.