Born Kharkov, Ukraine, 1913; died Moscow, 1994
Mark Aleksandrovich Abramov moved from Ukraine to Moscow, where from 1931 to 1936 he studied at the Moscow Civil Engineering Institute (MISI). During the 1930s, he and his brother Oleg published cartoons under the pseudonym Moa in satirical magazines and newspapers. After 1932 Abramov submitted his work to a broader range of illustrated magazines, including Krokodil, Ogonek, and Znamia. He also published his illustrations in local and national newspapers, including Izvestiia and Pravda. During World War II, he designed posters intermittently for the TASS studio. Between October 1941 and April 1945, approximately fifteen were released. He continued to design posters after the war, focusing increasingly on agricultural topics after 1956. In 1964 he was awarded the title Honored Worker of Arts of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.
Moa (Mark Aleksandrovich Abramov) and Aleksandr Alekseevich Zharov. A Great Day, April 15, 1944. Ne boltai! Collection.