Nikolaï Féchine

Nicolai Fechin was born in 1881 in the Russian Empire and died in the United States in 1955. In Russia he is known as a brilliant representative of the Kazan school; in the United States he is considered a national American painter. He was a painter, graphic artist, sculptor and engraver who worked in impressionist and modernist styles.

The son of an engraver of Kazan’s iconostases, Fechin studied at the Repin Studio of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in Saint Petersburg and subsequently became director of the Kazan School of Fine Arts, which today bears his name. Having received strong academic training, Fechin early on developed his own style combining impeccable mastery of all artistic techniques and unique skills in the use of colors. He soon gained recognition in Europe: from 1910 until the beginning of the First World War his works were regularly exhibited at the salons of Rome, Munich, Venice and Amsterdam. Unable to accept the October Revolution, he immigrated to the United States in 1923. His first solo exhibition at the Chicago Institute of Fine Arts was a great success and attracted customers, marking the beginning of a long and fruitful artistic journey. He produced a total of more than two thousand paintings, which are currently in more than thirty museums and private collections.

His still life paintings are appreciated as much as his portraits, landscapes and genre scenes. Filled with light and contrasts, they impress the viewer with a flow of energy and lively emotions. Daisies, created in the 1930s are a fine example of this type of paintings.