Vincent Hložník was a Slovak painter, graphic artist, illustrator and sculptor whose expressionist work was deeply shaped by the experience of war. His paintings and graphic works often depict human suffering, conflict and displacement, while his illustrations brought a similarly dramatic visual language to more than one hundred works of world and Slovak literature.

Born in 1919 in Svederník near Žilina, Hložník showed an early talent for drawing and studied at the Higher School of Applied Arts in Prague from 1937 to 1942 under František Kysela and Josef Novák. He returned to Slovakia in 1943, settling first in Žilina and later in Svederník. In 1945 he became a founding member of the Group of Fine Artists and was also a member of the Prague Mánes association. A study trip to Italy followed in 1948.

Hložník developed a practice spanning painting, printmaking, illustration and sculpture, with the events of the Second World War becoming a central subject. Works such as Exiled by War and Refugees reflect this preoccupation, while later graphic series drew on subjects ranging from Chinese tales and Odyssey to Faust and the Apocalypse. He also designed Czechoslovak postage stamps.

From 1952 to 1972, Hložník taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava, serving as rector from 1960 to 1964. In 1972 he was forced to leave the academy for political reasons and continued working as a freelance artist. He was named People's Artist of Czechoslovakia and received the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Third Class, in 1997.

Hložník died in Bratislava in 1997. In 2009, his family donated 799 of his works to the Žilina self-governing region, and a permanent exhibition of his work was established at the Považie Art Gallery.