Ivan Savenko was born on January 17, 1924 in the village of Varvarovka, Chernihiv region in Ukraine. In 1950 he graduated from the Kiev Art Institute, the workshop of Grigory Svetlitsky. He was a veteran of World War II, was wounded and lost his right hand, he had many military orders. In 1950-1954 he was studied in postgraduate courses of the  Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in named after I.E. Repin (Alexander Gerasimov's workshop). He was participated in exhibitions since 1950. Member of the Leningrad Union of Artists since 1952. He painted landscapes, portraits, genre and thematic compositions. Candidate of Art Criticism (1954). Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1975). Personal exhibition in Moscow (1990). Works of Ivan Savenko are in the State Russian Museum, the State Tretyakov Gallery, in museums and private collections in Russia, Japan, France, the United States, Great Britain and other countries.