Ivan Fedorovich Choultse, 1877-1932

Choultsé studied at the St. Peterburg Academy of Arts under the illustrious miniaturist, Konstantin Kryzhitsky. His preferred subject was the landscape, and in particular the study of light in nature. The first exhibition of his work was held in 1903 at the Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg and he rapidly became one of the most popular artists of his day, eventually being elected Court painter to Nicholas II. Following the 1917 Revolution, Choultsé left Russia for Europe, eventually settling in Paris, where his signature canvases depicting snow-capped woodlands glinting in the setting sun became highly prized by European and American collectors alike.