Elena POLENOVA 1850 — 1898Єлєна ПОЛЄНОВА • Елена ПОЛЕНОВАElena Polenova was born into a family with artistic leanings; her father was an amateur archeologist and her older brother was the famous painter Vasiliy Polenov. In 1879, at the age of 29, Elena Polenova entered the school of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts where she studied watercolor and ceramics. The turning point in Polenova’s artistic career came when she took charge of the wood-carving workshop at Abramtsevo, the artists’ colony outside of Moscow dedicated to the revival of Russian folk handicrafts. She began designing and creating furniture incorporating folk elements. She also produced watercolors and several of them were purchased by the leading Russian art patron Pavel Tretyakov. |
