“Portrait of Sandy Hill” has an informative inscription at the right bottom corner which reads “Paris 1910 7 june Sandy Stuart Hill”. However, the secret of the painting was only solved recently. For over a hundred years, it was considered a female portrait due to the placement of the sitter’s arms with thin hands, the modest blouse, reserved posture, languishing look, and bright lips. This could easily be an emancipated woman or an unknown actress in a parlor where visitors discuss the works of Picasso and Matisse.
In fact, Sandy Hill was a man, the Scottish painter Alexander Stuart-Hill. A talented graduate of an art college, he did an internship in Paris where he sat for a portrait by Elena Kiseleva at the age of 20. His contemporaries considered him to be eccentric and affected, and even nicknamed him “Shakespeare” because of his flamboyance and odd feminine appearance. Stuart-Hill created portraits of members of high society and a series of Scottish landscapes. He was also one of the first designers of posters. His works included a poster for London Transport and the logo of the Shell company.
Elena Kiseleva was born in Voronezh. She was the daughter of Andrey Kiselev, a mathematician and the author of algebra and geometry textbooks. She studied at the free drawing school in Voronezh, took private lessons at studios, and at the age of 22, she enrolled at the Higher Art School of the Academy of Arts. Elena Kiseleva was the favorite student of Ilya Repin and the first woman to be sent by the Academy for an internship to Europe.
The Silver Age romanticism and the training with Parisian masters shaped Kiseleva’s unique style, which was bright, rich, and fearless. Members of the Academy were skeptical about it and criticized the artist for “imitating the slapdash loudmouths”. Later, the paintings of Elena Kiseleva were recognized with the Award of Arkhip Kuindzhi and achieved success at international exhibitions. Maxim Gorky was among the admirers of her art and bought several of her paintings for his collection.
In her portraits, Elena Kiseleva combined the traditions of the Russian school and the trends of Post-Impressionism. The paintings are full of life and vivid colors. Kiseleva said that portrait was her favorite genre,
In fact, Sandy Hill was a man, the Scottish painter Alexander Stuart-Hill. A talented graduate of an art college, he did an internship in Paris where he sat for a portrait by Elena Kiseleva at the age of 20. His contemporaries considered him to be eccentric and affected, and even nicknamed him “Shakespeare” because of his flamboyance and odd feminine appearance. Stuart-Hill created portraits of members of high society and a series of Scottish landscapes. He was also one of the first designers of posters. His works included a poster for London Transport and the logo of the Shell company.
Elena Kiseleva was born in Voronezh. She was the daughter of Andrey Kiselev, a mathematician and the author of algebra and geometry textbooks. She studied at the free drawing school in Voronezh, took private lessons at studios, and at the age of 22, she enrolled at the Higher Art School of the Academy of Arts. Elena Kiseleva was the favorite student of Ilya Repin and the first woman to be sent by the Academy for an internship to Europe.
The Silver Age romanticism and the training with Parisian masters shaped Kiseleva’s unique style, which was bright, rich, and fearless. Members of the Academy were skeptical about it and criticized the artist for “imitating the slapdash loudmouths”. Later, the paintings of Elena Kiseleva were recognized with the Award of Arkhip Kuindzhi and achieved success at international exhibitions. Maxim Gorky was among the admirers of her art and bought several of her paintings for his collection.
In her portraits, Elena Kiseleva combined the traditions of the Russian school and the trends of Post-Impressionism. The paintings are full of life and vivid colors. Kiseleva said that portrait was her favorite genre,
