Antanas Kmieliauskas (1932–2019) was a Lithuanian painter, graphic artist, sculptor, member of the Lithuanian Artists' Association, professor, and Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts laureate.
In 1957, he graduated with a degree in painting from the Lithuanian Institute of Art and became a member of the Lithuanian Artists' Association that same year. Since 1960, he participated in exhibitions. From 1962 to 1977, he taught at the Vilnius Children's Art School, and since 1977, at the Vilnius Academy of Art. In 1994, he was awarded the title of professor by the academy.
A. Kmieliauskas made a significant contribution to Lithuanian art: he painted landscapes, compositions, over 120 portraits, created more than 70 granite and marble sculptural monuments, 2000 square meters of frescoes, more than 320 ex-libris, and more.
A. Kmieliauskas also painted the frescoes of the Rainiai Chapel of Suffering, the fresco in the Vilnius Jesuit Gymnasium, the former planetarium, and the Lithuanian Cooperative Union. His frescoes adorn the altar of St. Casimir's Church and the Bistrampolis book smugglers' chapel. Several of his sculptures are erected in Vilnius: the sculpture of St. Christopher near St. Nicholas Church, at the site of priest Bronius Laurinavičius' death, in the courtyard of the Vilnius Jesuit Gymnasium, and a monument dedicated to the soldiers from Lithuania who died in the Soviet-Afghan war from 1979 to 1989.
The artist's work, characterized by a distinctive style based on fundamental classical and modernist European art traditions, is a significant part of Lithuanian art and culture. His frescoes are notable for their unexpected perspectives and subdued color schemes, while his sculptures are known for their generalized forms and expressive silhouettes.
In 1994, A. Kmieliauskas was awarded the Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts for the frescoes in the Rainiai Chapel of Suffering. In 2007, he received the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas, and in 2016, for his merits, he was honored with the St. Christopher statue, the Vilnius city award.
