Kostas Grammatopoulos

Kostas Grammatopoulos was born in Athens in September 1916. His parents had moved a few years ago from Istanbul. His father, Panagiotis Grammatopoulos, was an artist cabinetmaker originally from Rysio or Aretsou, a Greek coastal town on the eastern side of the Propontis, 40 km. about from Istanbul.

In 1934 he graduated from the 7th High School of Pakrati and was admitted to the Athens School of Fine Arts, where he studied painting in the workshop of Umbertos Argyros, and engraving in the workshop of Yiannis Kefallinos during the period 1934–1940. Upon graduating, he was awarded the highest distinction of the Chrysovergeion Award.

In 1940, still a student, he created some of the best-known patriotic posters, on the subject of the Greco-Italian war. Included in these posters are The Heroines of 1940 with the Greek women in Pindos, Come and fight with the Greek soldier with a spear as a weapon, Forward to Greece, children, etc. He also designed various printed and propaganda materials of the resistance struggle. For this activity he was arrested and tortured during the German Occupation.

In 1944, his professional activity began with the creation of a series of portraits of many great Greek writers for the magazine Nea Estia. Famous are the portraits of Kostis Palamas, Angelos Terzakis, Ilias Venezis, Miltiadis Malakasis, Angelos Sikelianos, etc. At the same time, he also started to illustrate literary and educational books. The creation and illustration of books was an important activity of his throughout his life. He has illustrated more than 100 books.