Painter. Lado Gudishvilit is a Georgian painter, who had the honor of receiving in 1965, the first in the category of painting, the Shota Rustaveli State Prize, the highest prize awarded by Georgia in the fields of art and literature. Known for his book illustrations, his most outstanding are his illustrations for Shota Rustaveli's "The Knight in the Panther Skin," which were produced between 1931 and 1966. Starting a 70-year career as an artist, in 1914 he graduated with honors from the School of Fine Art in Tbilis before being employed by several magazines as an illustrator. In 1916 he participated in the expeditions organized jointly by the Georgian Artists and the Historic-Ethnographic Society, for the purpose of studying the architecture and wall paintings of Medieval Georgia. During these expeditions, he copied the frescos of Nabakhtevi and David-Gareji churches, which were exhibited in 1917 along with those of other artists in the local gallery, the Temple of Glory. These were his formative years as an artist. These works are exhibited in the 21st century at the Dimitri Shevardnadze National Gallery of the Georgian National Museum. With such an impressive exhibition, local philanthropists sponsored young artists to Paris to study. In 1919 he painted the walls of the café Kimerion, and illustrated books about avant-garde literature. Early in his career, he painted in great detail the people of the city of Tbilisi, especially those partying. Examples of such paintings are "Toast in the down," "Partying Kintos with a Lady", "Fish Tsotskhali," "Bohemian Rhapsodies" or "Khashi." This followed in 1919 with him going to Paris to study art at Ronson's private academy, staying until 1926. He traveled with his older colleagues and friends David Kakabadze. and Iakob Nikoladze. While in Western Europe, he was exposed to a host of artists and styles of art. When he left Georgia, his homeland was an independent country, but upon returning, he found his homeland under the Communist Soviet Union, which dictated the limitations of artists of pen or paint. There was no freedom of expression. Art became a means for political propaganda for the Communist Party. Artists were being executed or being sent in exile to Siberia for years for non-conforming. The Communist Iron Curtain isolated artists from the rest of the world. He found employment as a book illustrator and in theater set work. In 1936 he created the very first Georgian animated film "The Argonauts" together with the film director V. Mujiri. To escape the limitations set by the Communist Party, he developed a fantasy world based on fairy tales, historical legends and myths, with often dark colors and depressing themes. This can be seen in his paintings "Destitute" and "The Evil Family." During and after World War II, he painted historical and epic folklore, creating paintings such as "Before the Promenade" in 1941, "Chukurtma in a Red Hat" in 1944, "The Legend of the Foundation of Tbilisi," "Worthy Reply," and "Dancing Ol-ol" all in 1945, "From the Sarcophagus at Armazi" in 1951, and "The Devis Wedding" in 1954. In 1946 he accepted a commission to paint the walls of Kashveti Saint George Church in Tbilisi. Though Communism did not support Christianity, he decided to paint what he had learned early in his career. He painted on one wall the Virgin and Child, and the Apostles, taking Holy Communion reunited against the background of the Garden of Eden. The adjacent wall was decorated with the Archangel Gabriel and an Annunciation scene. For this Christian painting, he was ordered to stop his work as an act of censorship, dismissed from the Communist Party, terminated as a teacher from the Academy of Arts in 1948 after 22 years of employment, and lost his membership in the Union of Painters. His long-time colleague Kakabadze was dismissed at the same time from the Academy of Arts. To answer this censorship in an uncompromising attitude, he began to draw sharp satirical images full of acute social criticism. On May 14, 1957, his planned exhibition at the National Gallery triggered an artistic protest. At the last minute, his 800-piece exhibition was banned by the Communist Party, and when people came to the gallery, the doors were locked. The doors were forced and his art was seen by the public. This protest started a motion in the post-Stalinist era for the liberalization in art. This new freedom can be seen in his paintings "Woman with Red Gloves" in 1964, "Fortune Teller" in 1969, and "Anano with Flowers" in 1974. In 2017 his 1969 three drawings of a woman with a mythological beast sold at Christie's auction for $11,000. The works were inscribed "to Walter from Lado and Nina Gudiashvili with Christmas wishes" written in Russian. He painted several self-portraits, some more realistic while others very abstract. His statue can be found in Tbilisi at the 9th of April Park.