Boris Grigoriev

~ 1886 – 1939

Boris Grigoriev was a painter, graphic artist, and writer. He studied at the Stroganov Art School from 1903 to 1907 with Dmitry Shcherbinovsky. Grigoriev went on to study at the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg from 1907 to 1912. He began exhibiting his work in 1909 as a member of the Union of Impressionists group, and became a member of the World of Art movement in 1913.

After his return to Saint Petersburg in 1913 he became part of the Bohemian scene in St. Petersburg and was close to many artists and writers of the time, such as Sergey Sudeykin, Velimir Khlebnikov and the poet Anna Akhmatova, often painting their portraits. Grigoriev travelled and lived abroad in many countries including Finland, Germany, France, the United States, Central and South Americas. Grigoriev lived for a time in Paris, where he attended the Académie de la Grande Chaumière.
In Paris he was strongly influenced by Paul Cézanne. It was either at this time, or while he lived in New York (there are conflicting reports) that he had an affair with the young painter Martha Visser't Hooft, then Martha Hamlin.

He was interested in the Russian countryside, its peasants and village life. From 1916 to 1918 he created a series of paintings and graphic works, Russia (Raseja, Russian: Расея), depicting the poverty and strength of rural Russia. He also created some interesting sensual and erotic artworks, some showing a Mistress. I could not find a story for these artworks.

2 albums/24 artworks
Latest Update: November 15, 2024 > Added more art (6 artworks)