Július Nemčík was born on 12th November 1909 in Lipníky near Prešov and died 7th January 1986 in Bratislava. He was trained as a carpenter, and painting was only his hobby. His first training in painting was under E. Rákoši and M. Jordán in Prešov. After graduating, he continued in the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague under professor Loukota (in 1936 – 1942). In 1942 – 1945 he lived partially in Prešov and in Prague. In 1945, he settled in Košice, where he became an active organiser and one of the founding partners of the Svojina society. In 1948 he studied art in Paris and in 1954 he settled for good in Bratislava. Before that, in 1942 he had an exhibition in Prešov and later (in 1960) he had a joint exhibition with his wife, Edita Špannerová. In 1946 he had a joint exhibition with M. Bazovský in Ružomberok. At the turn of 1950s his works are dominated by themes from the wartime Slovak National Uprising. Despite the study being focused predominantly in figural painting, we can observe tendency for landscape painting in his work (which is specifically emphasised in watercolour landscape variations). His paintings suggest the influence of the brush stroke of Majerník, who was, in a certain way, Nemčík’s role model. In 1959, Nemčík received the title of Merited Artist, State Distinction in 1970 and in 1973 he was awarded as the National Artist. In 2009, the city of Prešov honoured both Nemčík and his wife and named two streets after them: Špannerovej street and Nemčíkova street. Bibliography: Váross, M.: Slovenské výtvarné umenie 1918 – 1945. SVKL Bratislava 1960; Štraus, T.: Július Nemčík. Bratislava 1961; Peterajová, Ľ.: Július Nemčík. Bratislava 1977.