Nadezhda Sapozhnikova

Nadezhda Sapozhnikova (Russian: Надежда Михайловна Сапожникова; 26 March 1877 – late autumn 1942) was a Russian painter and a maecenas. Sapozhnikova was born in a merchant family and received her education in Kazan. At the age of 27, Nadezhda started to practice painting. Together with her supervisor Nicolai Fechin Sapozhnikova travelled to Paris, where from 1910 to 1912 she studied in the studios of Antonio DeVity and Kees van Dongen. After returning to Kazan, Sapozhnikova opened her own studio and provided Fechin with financial support – she owned 11 of his works, including five portraits of her. Until 1925 Nadezhda taught painting and drawing in Kazan, then moved to Moscow. In the 1930s, she eventually finished her career as an artist. Up to now, only a few works of Sapozhnikova have been preserved; some of her paintings are exhibited at the National Gallery of Art "Hazine".