Igor Galanin was born in 1937 in Moscow, Russia. He was educated and began his artistic career in the former Soviet Union by illustrating children's books and designing sets for the Moscow Ballet Theatre. Igor exhibited regularly in Moscow and illustrated more than 30 children’s books. His children’s books continue to be published in France and Russia today. In 1972, Igor immigrated first to Rome, Italy, where he had his first international solo show, and subsequently to New York, where he initially continued with illustration work for The Macmillan Company producing a series of children’s fairy tales. In 1975, Igor had a solo exhibit at the Red Barn Gallery on Fisher's Island, New York and was selected to participate in the Young Artist's Exhibit in Boston's Rose Museum. This led to his first New York group show at the Andre Emmerich Gallery, a series of solo exhibits at the Pucker Safrai Gallery in Boston, and to his long association with Jean Aberbach (Aberbach Gallery) and Lindsay Findlay (David Findlay Gallery), in New York. In addition to New York and Boston, Igor has exhibited in Colorado, California, Florida, Texas, Maine, and Montreal, Canada. His work has been featured in Elle Magazine, The Yale Literary Magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, Penthouse Forum, and the New York Times.