MARIE VASSILIEF (1884-1957)

Marie Vassiliéff, (February 12, 1884 – May 14, 1957) was a Russian painter.

She was born in Smolensk, Russia to a prosperous family who encouraged her to study medicine. Her natural instincts, however, were for the arts and, in 1903 she switched to the study of art at the Academy in St. Petersburg. In 1905 she visited the artistic capital of the world, Paris, France.

Two years later, she moved to Paris, taking a job as a correspondent for several Russian newspapers while studying painting under Henri Matisse and attending classes at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts.

In 1908 she founded the Académie Russe (Russian Academy), which was renamed the following year as, the Académie Vassilieff.

Marie Vassilieff became an integral part of the great creative community of Montparnasse, where today one may still see her ornamental panels, created in 1927 for the pillars in the dining room of the La Coupole. She was friends with  such artists as Amedeo Modigliani, Ossip Zadkine, Juan Gris, Chaim Soutine, Marc Chagall, Picasso and Georges Braque.

After several exhibitions in London in 1928 and 1930, and in Italy in 1929, she opened the Vassilieff Museum. In 1998, the Musée du Montparnasse was opened in Marie Vassilieff’s old studio.

Marie Vassilieff’s own artwork is primarily in the Cubist style. She is also known for her decorative furniture pieces and her doll-portraits. Vassilieff’s works remain very popular. Today they may be found in museums and private collections worldwide.