Riko (Rihard) Debenjak was a Slovenian academic painter and graphic artist. He was born in 1908 in Gorenja vas near Kanal. He graduated at the Art School of Belgrade. He attended a painting course at the Belgrade Higher Academy. He studied independently at the Paris art collections and attended a drawing course at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. He was a full-time professor and head of the department of graphic arts at Academy of Fine Arts in Ljubljana and raised a number of excellent graphics such as Vladimir Makuc, Janez Bernik and Janez Boljka.

He was one of the leading representatives of the Ljubljana Graphic School. His most famous works are the Kraševke, Drevesne skorje and Magične dimenzije. He exhibited his graphics at home and in Paris, Berlin, Istanbul, Cairo, London, Tokyo, Johannesburg, Rio de Janeiro, New Delhi and New York. He is the recipient of numerous awards: Levstik's Illustration Award, the gold medal at the 5th Biennale in Alexandria, the Prešeren Award for graphics and the 1st Prize at the IV. International Exhibition of Graphics in Ljubljana. In 1977 Debeljak Gallery was opened in Kanal, to which he donated a large number of his graphics. He died in 1987 in Ljubljana.

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