Evenbach Evgenia Konstantinovna
1889, Kremenchug, Poltava Province – 1981, Leningrad
Painter, graphic artist, watercolorist. Studied under Nicholas Roerich, Arkady Rylov and Jan Ciągliński at the School of Drawing, Society for the Encouragement of Arts; studied lithography in the workshop of Vasily Mathé (mid-1910s); attended classes at the Institute of Art History, Higher Women’s (Bestuzhev) Courses (1917–1924); State Free Art Studios/VKhUTEMAS in Petrograd (1918– 1923 under Vasily Shukhaev, from 1919 under Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin), simultaneously attended classes in the Department of Art History, Lenin – grad University. Contributed to exhibitions (from 1928). Member of the Union of Artists (1932).
Had been fond of folk art since childhood, collected and copied national design patterns. During the Great Patriotic War served as sister of charity (1916), headed soldiers (Bolshevik) club (from 1917), draw posters. Together with her fellow students from the studio of Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin was sent to Novgorod to measure old architectural monuments and to copy frescoes (1920). Collaborated with publishing houses (the 1920s–1930s) including Uchpedgiz publishing house, took part in compiling ABC books and first books for Peoples of the North, made tours to Far East (1934– 1938).
Lived in Leningrad during the siege (1943– 1946), evacuated to Altai. In post-war years took up easel graphic art, illustrated books, taught in the Faculty of Graphic Art, Alexander Herzen State Pedagogical Institute (1948–1952). Evgenia Evenbach remembers: “Kuzma Sergeevich had the largest number of students. He also had the cleanest, most resplendent paints… My teacher Petrov-Vodkin expanded my worldview…” (quote from V. S. Matafonov. “Evgenia Konstantinovna Evenbach”. Khudozhnik RSFSR, Leningrad, 1988, p. 22).