Landscape painting by Constantin Westchiloff

Painting: 23 3/4" x 29 3/4"
Frame: 31 1/2" x 37 3/4"

Constantin Westchiloff
(Source: Wiki) Constantin Alexandrovich Westchiloff born Konstantin Aleksandrovich Veschilov was a Russian-American artist known for portraits, genre scenes, landscapes, and seascapes. He was also an accomplished graphic artist and set designer. Death records for Westchloff indicate that he was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, 5 December 1878, and died 23 April 1945 in New York. Some sources, including Benezit Dictionary of Artists, list the date of birth for Westchiloff as 20 November 1877. Another source lists his date of birth as 15/28 May 1878. Another source lists his date of birth as 27 May 1878. Westchiloff latinized his name to Constantin A. Westchiloff in 1922, when he took residency in France. Westchiloffs cause of death was heart attack. He was buried 25 April 1945 in Mount Olivet Cemetery (Queens), in Maspeth, Queens, New York. One biographer has described Westchiloff as an enigmatic character.

Westchiloff was born to a merchant family in St. Petersburg, Russia. His father was named Alexander; his mother, Anna Vassilieva.

Westchiloff received his first painting lessons at Valaam Monastery under the guidance of Father Luke, who was in charge of painting the main cathedral of the monastery. At the age of 15, in 1893, Westchiloff began studies at the Drawing School of the Society for the Promotion of the Arts in St. Petersburg. He continued studies there until 1896, when he began a two-year term of studies under Ilya Repin at the St. Petersburg art school founded by Princess Maria Tenisheva.

Between 1898 and 1904 Westchiloff continued studies under Repin at the Imperial Academy of Arts, informally known as the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. There, Repin singled out Weshchiloff among his talented students not only as a beloved, but also as a "personal student."[8][10] During studies at the Academy, Westchiloff lived with another poor student, I. Tryapichnikov, in Repin's studio apartment, fully supported by Repin. Westchiloff spent most summers at Repin's dacha -- a time which Westchiloff used for improving his skills at plein air painting.[10] A sketch created by Repin in 1898 depicts Westchiloff, Tryapichnikov, and Repin's son, Yuri, in plein air exercises at Repin's dacha.

In November 1904, Westchiloff concluded his studies with the Royal Academy with formal review of his painting, Ivan the Terrible After the Triumph of Kazan. Per the success of that review, Westchiloff graduated with a gold medal — receiving the title of artist and support for foreign study in Italy for a period of one year, from January 1, 1905, at public expense.

In 1902, through support from Repin, Westchiloff received his first commission: a large diorama entitled The Founding of St. Petersburg.[10] That diorama was for celebrations of that city's bicentennial in 1903.

Also in 1902, while still a student at the Imperial Academy, Constantin Westchiloff began to exhibit work at Moscow exhibitions-- showing portraits and genre paintings. The painting, One the Way, 1903, is representative of Westchiloff's genre work in the early 1900s.

In 1904 Westchiloff became a permanent exhibitor of the Society of Russian Watercolors. After artist Vasily Vereshchagin died on 13 April 1904, a civilian casualty on a Russian battleship serving in the Russo-Japanese War, Westchiloff took over the execution of the orders of the Admiralty.

In 1905, Westchiloff received the A. I Kuindzhi prize for his painting, Forgiveness Sunday in Russia in the 17th century. Also in 1905, while on his traveling fellowship in Italy and France, Westchiloff began to work on a canvas entitled, Julius Caesar: The Last Entrance to the Senate. Westchiloff was unable to complete this painting before the end that year. Therefore, the Imperial Art Academy extended the fellowship for a second year-- into 1906. The Academy was generally satisfied with the completed Julius Caesar. However, the Academy denied Westchiloff's written request to have his fellowship extended for a third year-- into 1907-- so that he could study the life of the northern peoples and the history of Norway.

In 1906, Westchiloff participated in the Royal Academy's First Fall Exhibition in St. Petersburg. Westchiloff exhibited his painting, Breakthrough of the Cruiser Askold in 1904 in the Yellow Sea, which interpreted a scene in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. He also exhibited his portraits of Count Nikolay Muravyov-Amursky and of Lieut. S. Poguljajeff.

Westchiloff's studio in Paris looked directly out at the Seine River. Records of Hôtel Drouot,[21] a large auction house in Paris, document sales of some paintings which Westchiloff produced while living in France. In the spring of 1928 in Paris, Westchiloff exhibited paintings at the Galeries Jean Charpentier, 76 Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré (that location in Paris now occupied by Sotheby's France). This was the second exhibition for Westchiloff at Jean Charpentier.

The U.S. Federal census of 1940 documents Constantine and Marie as living in Ward 15, Manhattan. Their address, initially leased in October of 1939, was 58 West 57th Street in New York City.[27] In New York, Westchiloff was a member of the Repin Society of Russian Artists and an honorary member of the Society of Former Russian Naval Officers in America.[28] Westchiloff donated paintings for charity auctions that benefited the Union of Former Russian Judicial Officers, the Moscow Community, the Sea Assembly, and other organizations.

Donated his paintings for charity lotteries in favor of the Union of Former Russian Judicial Officers, the Moscow Community, the Sea Assembly and other organizations. In 1937, his paintings were exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

In the late 1930s and early 1940s Westchiloff left his studio in New York City to paint seascapes and harbor scenes in coastal New England[18] frequently painting in and around the town of Ogunquit, Maine. Westchiloff was also fond of painting mountain streams in snow depicting scenes in the Adirondack Mountains.

There is a 2 inch line where the paint is lifting center right,visible in the photos.