Nicolai Fechin

Born in Kazan, Russia on Nov. 28, 1881, Nicolai Fechin was raised in the dark Volga forest amidst the wild Tartar tribes. Fechin's early art training came from his father who was a poor wood and metal craftsman. At age 13 he received a scholarship to the Kazan Art School (which was founded by his grandfather) and at age 19 entered the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in St Petersburg where he was greatly influenced by Ilya Repin.

After graduating in 1909, he taught at the Kazan Art School. Following several years of deprivation during the Bolshevik Revolution and WWI, he immigrated to America with his wife and baby daughter in 1923. Fechin struggled for a meager existence in NYC doing portraits and teaching until his work was discovered by local galleries.

Submitted by Paul Scott Gallery & galleryrussia.com