Oton Gliha (Črnomelj, 21 May 1914 - Zagreb, 19 July 1999) was a Croatian artist, born in Slovenia. A graduate of the Academy of fine Arts in Zagreb, Gliha continued his studies in Paris, Vienna and Munich. He is best known for his series of abstract paintings based on the patterns of the drystone walls of coastal Croatia. The first in the series appeared in 1954, and it was a theme he developed for the rest of his life. Gliha held solo exhibitions of his work in Croatia, and abroad. He participated in the Venice Bienniales of 1962 and 1964. Two retrospective exhibitions of his work have been held at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb. Oton Gliha received the Vladimir Nazor Award for lifetime achievement in 1977. He was elected to the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts in 1998. Oton Gliha's paintings are held in public collections around the world, for example New York, São Paulo, Paris and Turin. Biography Oton Gliha was born 21 May 1914 in Črnomelj, then in Austria-Hungary, today in Slovenia. His parents were originally from Istria, on the northern part of the Croatian coast. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Osijek, where young Oton attended primary school. In 1924, the family moved again, this time to Zagreb. Completing high school in 1933, Gliha enrolled in the Academy of fine Arts, where he studied under prominent Croatian artists such as Maksimilijan Vanka, Tomislav Krizman, Ljubo Babić. He graduated in 1937, in the class of Marino Tartaglia. While at the academy, Gliha met and married fellow art student Mila Kumbatović. Her family came from the island of Krk, where the couple would spend much of their time when not in Zagreb. The images of the island would make a strong impression on Gliha's art. In 1938, Gliha participated in his first exhibition in Zagreb, and in 1954 held his first solo exhibition. That year, the painting Primorje (Coast) introduced the Drystone Walls cycle that would become Gliha's life work. In 1957, a second solo exhibition focused completely on his paintings of the Drystone Walls of Krk. Gliha travelled and exhibited his work abroad, including several visits to Paris, Italy (in 1952 and 1961), USA (in 1958 and 1979). In 1977, Gliha received the Vladimir Nazor Award for lifetime achievement in the visual arts. In 1998, he was elected a member of the