Stepan Kolesnikoff (1879-1955)

The son of peasants, Stepan Kolesnikoff was born in the Ukraine in 1879.   He originally studied at the Odessa Insitute of Art, where he graduated in 1903 with high honors, which led to his acceptance at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, where, unusually, he was admitted without even having to take an entrance exam. 

At the Imperial Academy, Kolesnikoff was a student of Kiselev, and graduated with the rank of Artist in 1909.  From 1915-20, Kolesnikoff lived in Odessa and exhibited regularly at exhibitions of artists from Southern Russia. 

He emigrated to Belgrade, Serbia in the 1920s, where he became a professor at the Belgrade Academy of Fine Arts and his works were in extraordinary demand.  King Alexander I of Serbia was an important patron and supporter, giving Kolesnikoff numerous important commissions.  While lilving in Belgrade, Kolesnikoff continued to exhibit widely across Europe, including in Belgrade, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Paris, and Prague.   His works were celebrated for their mastery of color and refined draughtsmanship.