A Russian Odyssey: The Art and Times of Ivan Djeneeff

September 9 – October 28, 2001

This exhibition of paintings, watercolors and drawings spans the diverse career of Ivan Alexeyevich Djeneeff, a Russian-American artist whose life experiences resemble an historical novel. Born on his family’s estate in 1868, the young nobleman was trained in the Classics, studied under Russia’s finest nineteenth century painters at the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg, and carried out postgraduate studies at the Academie Julian in Paris. His life revolved around the vibrant artistic world of late Romanov Russia.

A Russian Odyssey includes works painted in Russia in the early twentieth century. It also contains sketches completed during his career as a Russian officer during World War I and works dating from his assignment as a weapons inspector in the United States.

From Djeneeff’s exile in America during the Bolshevik Revolution until his death in 1955, he created a body of work much of which can be described as a nostalgic look at the Russia of his youth, vivid depictions from Slavic folk tales, and scenes from Russian history. Paintings produced during his residence at the prestigious MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire also form a part of the exhibition, as do designs for important American commissions.

Djeneeff exhibition organized and circulated by Meridian International Center, Washington, DC. Above descriptive text courtesy of Meridian International Center and Dr. Alison Hilton, exhibition curator.