Born in Yuryev uyezd, Vladimir province Alexander Lebedev began his career in the visual arts from studying at the Moscow school of painting, sculpture and architecture. From a young man in 1847 transferred to the Academy of arts, where he studied under the guidance of renowned teachers at Markov and N. And. Utkin. Having your student work two silver medals (in 1848 and 1849), Alexander Lebedev was forced to suspend classes and leave the Academy (1850) by obtaining the title of class artist. However, the determination of the young painter in later years brought him the fame of a skilful portrait painter. Since 1860, A. I. Lebedev is a permanent participant of academic exhibitions, and in 1861 he became a teacher at the Patriotic Institute in St. Petersburg (the name for an educational institution is highly unusual). In 1868, the artist was awarded the title of academician of portraiture. Although formally such an honorary title awarded A. I. Lebedev for a portrait of the artist's wife and a self-portrait, a considerable role was played by writing them a series of portraits of members of the Imperial family. The famous painter and as the author of the images for a number of churches of St. Petersburg.
