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nicolai fechin

Nicolai Fechin was born in Kazan, Russia, in 1881, where he was trained at the Kazan Art School, which was founded by his grandfather. Further study at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersberg was followed by the hard years that followed the Bolshevik Revolution. He studied in Paris and other places in Europe, and was fascinated by the style of painting known as Impressionism. Works created in this style featured loose brush strokes and attention to light and atmospheric effects that captured a brief moment in time. He began to experiment with the use of a palette knife to apply thick layers of paint and color onto his canvases. Eventually immigrating to the U.S. in the 1920’s, Fechin found work teaching at the New York Academy of Art. He became known for his outstanding portraiture skills and began to show his work in galleries. His paintings were included in two exhibits in 1923, one at the Brooklyn Museum of art in 1923 “Exhibition of Russian Painting and Sculpture”, and a solo show at the Art Institute of Chicago. He also was a teacher at the new Grand Central School of Art in New York, which was founded by important American artist John Singer Sargent.

Fame would find Fechin upon his move to Taos, necessitated by tuberculosis, as his health required a drier climate. In the Southwest Fechin focused his work on the people who lived in the area, painting dramatic, richly colored and impastoed portraits of cowboys, Native Americans and local Mexican inhabitants. He felt at home in the area, and the surrounding mountains reminded him of Siberia.

At the height of his career, Fechin started an art school in Santa Monica, where he later died in 1955.

An important painting by this unique and brilliant artist is held in the permanent collection of the Hermitage Museum and Gardens in Virginia, titled “Girl Drawing”. Museum Docent Sevra Basar notes that Fechin had an unusual method of canvas preparation as he “made his own absorbent ground out of casein. The casein absorbed enough oil to allow the paint to ‘set up’ quickly and give the brush strokes a dry appearance in the paintings.” The artist’s distinctive style of application of paint has been described as nervous and hurried, producing a thick, encrusted appearance.

For additional information, visit:
Taos Art Museum at Fechin House
Wikipedia
Stark Museum of Art - Fechin Paintings
Frye Museum - 2013 Nicolai Fechin Exhibition
Varied, Unrestrained, Ruthless and Superb: The Mastery of Nicolai Fechin
Inspirations - Drawings/Portraits
American Artists from the Russian Empire