CityView Magazine

George J. Novikoff - A Timeline Jan. 30, 1884: Gregory Ivanovich Novikoff is born in Samara, Russia. March 24, 1885: Klavdia Mikhailovna is born. She and Novikoff – who called himself George J. Novikff in America – would have four children, all born in Russia: Vera (Sept. 17, 1910), George (Aug. 6, 1912), Victor (Nov. 11, 1913) and Olga (July 11, 1914). April 5, 1916: Novikoff is aboard the S.S. Kristianiafjord, which leaves from Bergen, Norway headed for the United States. The ship arrives in New York City on April 15. 1917: Novikoff files a World War I Draft Registration Card in Philadelphia. Nov. 10, 1919: Novikoff files a Declaration of Intent in Philadelphia to become a U.S. citizen and takes the Oath of Allegiance. 1919-1920: Novikoff works on the interior iconography of the walls of the St. Nicholas Church on Seventh Street in Philadelphia. Jan. 14, 1920: Novikoff is listed in the census as a “lodger” with a Martin family in Philadelphia. He is listed in the documents as married and working as an artist. He is nearly 37 years old. April 15, 1924: Novikoff’s Petition for Naturalization is approved. His address on the documents is 523 N. Carrollton Ave., in Baltimore, Md. 1933: Novikoff completes and is photographed in front of two murals he paints for the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, according to a librarian there. 1936: The mural in the upstairs master bedroom of Stone Manor in Fayetteville, depicting a scene from 1001 Arabian Nights, is signed by Novikoff. 1937: Novikoff completes the mural in the East Parlor of Stone Manor, a scene of a dancer performing before a court, supposedly that of the Roman emperor Nero. April 27, 1942: Novikoff registers for the World War II draft in Baltimore. 1942: The interior iconography of the St. Nicholas Church in Philadelphia is restored by Novikoff, as part of the 25th anniversary of the church. 1947: Novikoff signs the murals in upstairs southeastern bedroom of Stone Manor in Fayetteville, which show a couple together in the sky in each panel. June 1, 1967: Novikoff dies in Baltimore, Md. He is buried in Plot 215 in Parsons Cemetery in nearby Salisbury. An Edith G. Novikoff (1884-1972) is interred next to him. 62 | Food & Wine • 2010

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