Nadia Benois

Nadezhda Leontievna Ustinova (Russian: Надежда Леонтьевна Устинова; née Benois (Бенуа); 17 May 1896 – 8 December 1975),[2] better known as Nadia Benois,[3] was a Russian-born painter of still lifes and landscapes, and stage designer. Her father Leon Benois belonged to the Benois family. She was the mother of British actor, writer, and filmmaker Sir Peter Ustinov.

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming conventions, the patronymic is Leontievna and the family name is Ustinova.

Nadia Benois
Надежда Бенуа
Self-portrait
Born
Nadezhda Leontievna Benois

(1896-05-17)17 May 1896[1]
Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
Died8 December 1975(1975-12-08) (aged 79)
Gloucestershire, England
Occupation(s)Artist, painter
SpouseJona von Ustinov
ChildrenPeter Ustinov
RelativesTamara Ustinov (granddaughter)

Biography

Nadezhda studied how to be an artist at St. Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts. On 17 July 1920, Benois married Jona Ustinov, a journalist and diplomat; the couple subsequently settled in London, where Peter, their only child, was born in 1921. In 1935, Jona became a British subject.

In the course of her travels, Benois painted the impressionist landscapes of London, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland.[4] She exhibited her works in the Goupil, Redfern, Beaux-Arts, and other galleries, and is mentioned in multiple Journals from the Royal Arts Society.[5] Some of her still lifes were acquired by the Tate Gallery in 1936.[6] She also designed the stage for the ballet Cap over Mill, which was part of the Dark Elegies.[7]

Later, Benois created costumes and sets for the films Vice Versa (1948) and Private Angelo (1949), both written and directed by her son, Peter.[8][9]

She died on 8 December 1975 in Gloucestershire.[10]

Notable works
  • "Kensington Gardens" (Manchester City Art Gallery, 1937)
  • "Three Women Painters" (Michael Parkin Gallery, 1975)
Design productions
  • "Dark Elegies"(1937)
  • "The Sleeping Princess" (1939)

References
  1. Dolman, Bernard, ed. (1962). Who's who in Art (11 ed.).
  2. Chilvers, Ian (2017). The Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0191024177.
  3. Windsor, Alan (1998). Handbook of modern British painting and printmaking: 1900-1990 (2nd of "Handbook of modern British painting : 1900-1980" Scolar press, 1992, expanded and updated ed.). Aldershot: Ashgate. ISBN 1859284272.
  4. "Искусство и архитектура русского зарубежья - БЕНУА (в замуж. Устинова) Надежда Леонтьевна".
  5. "THE WEEK". BMJ. 2 (2974): 867–870. December 29, 1917. doi:10.1136/bmj.2.2974.867. ISSN 0959-8138. S2CID 220237215.
  6. Foster, Alicia (2004). Tate Women Artists. London: Tate Publishing. p. 71 ISBN 1-85437-311-0
  7. Gore, Paula Hinton; Crisp, Clement (April 1988). "IV. Walter Gore's Choreographies: A first listing First performance dates only are given. Many of these ballets were later staged for other companies". Dance Research. VI (1): 23–29. doi:10.2307/1290745. ISSN 0264-2875. JSTOR 1290745.
  8. "Royal Agricultural Society of England : Award of Research Medal". Nature. 181 (4622): 1506–1507. May 1958. Bibcode:1958Natur.181S1506.. doi:10.1038/1811506c0. ISSN 0028-0836.
  9. "Nadia Benois | Biography | IMDb" Retrieved on May 14, 2014.
  10. Bolton, Roy. Views of Russia & Russian Works on Paper. ISBN 978-1-907200-05-2.


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