Welcome to the brand new Arthive! Discover a full list of new features here.

Olga
Alexandrovna Romanova

Russia • 1882−1960

Biography and information

Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna was the youngest daughter of the Russian Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna (nee Princess Dagmar of Denmark). On his mother Olga has been associated with virtually all the Royal families of Europe. Together with his brothers and sister, she received an excellent education. They are fluent in Russian, French, Danish and German languages, studied literature, mathematics, history and art. In the Imperial family, all the children studied painting, but soon Olga began to do it professionally. Her teachers were professors of the St Petersburg Academy and, in particular, V. Makovsky, S. Zhukovsky, S. Vinogradov.

In 1900, the Grand Duchess held in the Gatchina Palace art exhibitions, which were presented not only her work but also the works of young artists. Proceeds from sales are used for charitable purposes. In 1912, the artist founded the "O-vo help needy artists in memory of academician kryzhitskogo".

During the First world war at his own expense arranged in Kiev hospital, where he served as a nurse. With the goal of raising money for the red cross, reproductions of her works were printed on postcards together with the works of famous artists of the time. The favorite technique of the Grand Duchess was watercolor. These colors were easy to take on the road, and to move from one country to another Olga had often. Younger sister of Nicholas II, she is the last of the Emperor's family left Russia. In 1920, Olga and her husband and two sons , from the Crimea through Turkey, went first to Yugoslavia, then to his mother Maria Feodorovna in Denmark.

In 1930, Olga acquired a small estate in the town of Ballerup. Began the happiest period of her life. Work from the 1930s – 1940s depict scenes of the idyllic and prosperous rural life. In spite of the frequent blows of fate, the artist has not lost the joy of life. It is, as before, found the beauty in everyday things: rural road, a tea table, a birthday cake under her brush it all turned into a work of art. In this period the Grand Duchess was friends with an outstanding Danish artist, master of landscape P. Mastedon, with whom he went on sketching. Olga often gave his paintings to the families and friends of the family as the Romanov and other Royal families. Picture of the Grand Duchess was brought to her family's livelihood. They instantly were sold at the annual Bazaar, which was then organized by the Russian Orthodox Church in Copenhagen. In 1934, the "agent" of the artist R. Pederson gave an exhibition of works by Olga in his gallery in Copenhagen. The exhibition was a great success. In 1936 painting of the Grand Duchess was exhibited in London at the gallery Agnew at a charity exhibition for the benefit of Russian refugees in England. All of her works were sold out within two days, their owners were the Royal family of UK and Norway, Baron Rothschild, W. Churchill and others. In 1948, Olga and her family moved to Canada, where he settled in a small town near Toronto.

All his life the artist developed his talent, leaving the painting under any circumstances. Her works were exhibited in Russia, UK, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Canada. Permanent exhibition of paintings by Grand Duchess is in the Museum of the city of Ballerup.

In 2007, the state Tretyakov gallery hosted an exhibition of works of the "August artist" to the 125th anniversary of her birth. In Moscow the work was brought by the daughter-in-law of Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna Kulikovskaya-Romanova.