Curatorial project: "Petrov-Vodkin's Circle"

Painter, graphic artist; her few famous paintings are mostly landscapes and portraits. Studied under Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin at Elizaveta Zvantseva’s School of Art (the 1910s); State Free Art Studios in Petrograd without a tutor (1918–1922); attended Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin’s workshop (1922). Presumably, View onto Obvodny Canal (1922 (?), the collection of Pyotr Aven, Moscow) was her diploma work. Contributed to exhibitions in Petrograd: Young Artists (1917), Free Studio Society (1917), World of Art (1917, 1918), First Free Exhibition of Works of Art (1919).

Chairperson of the Free Studio Society (1916–1917). Member of the “left wing” of the Union of Art Workers (1917–1918). Favsta Shikhmanova was born into an aristocratic family. She received her general education at the private girls’ gymnasium of Lyubov Tagantseva. Her grandfather, Yakov Shikhmanov (1796–1877) was a full admiral and Hero of the Defence of Sveaborg. Her father, Nikolai Shikhmanov (1840–1904), a retired seaman, kept himself busy looking after domestic affairs and was the chair of the Russian Beekeeping Society. The

Shikhmanovs were closely related to the very wealthy Ratkov-Rozhnovs, and therefore, as a representative of the family, he was Chairman of the Management Board of the “Samolet” company as well as a number of other enterprises. There is not very much information available about the artist herself. It is known that in a decision from the Painting Faculty approved by the Management Board of the Academy of Arts on 7 September 1922 she received the title of artist for the “artistic rendering of her painting” (Research Archives of the Russian Academy of Arts, collection 7, series 8, rec. 2997, sheet 5 (with her name written as “Faveta”)). We also know that on 16 December 1937 she was arrested. There is no further record of her.