Vasily Kachalov (Василий Качалов): Inscribed, Signed and Dated 1909 Photograph.
Inscribed in Russian: to Elena Elvanovna Budevitz for good memory, Moscow, 1909.
Photograph 5.5 x 4, Backing 10x7 inches.
Vasily Kachalov (Василий Качалов, 1875 - 1948) was one of the most renowned Russian actors. He worked closely and often with Konstantin Stanislavski and led the so-called Kachalov Group in the Moscow Art Theatre.
Kachalov played Hamlet in the 1911 Symbolist production, created by Konstantin Stanislavski and E. Gordon Craig, the most influential theatre figures of the 20th century. The production placed the Moscow Art Theatre on the European cultural map and was regarded as one of the most famous, revolutionary, and formative events, which influenced the history of theatrical performance.
Vasily Kachalov was born as Vasili Ivanovich Shverubovich, son of a Belarusian Orthodox priest in Vilnius, Russian Empire (now Lithuania). His schoolmates included the future head of Soviet Cheka and the OGPU Felix Dzerzhinsky and Lithuanian composer Konstantinas Galkauskas. In 1896, he left the law faculty of Saint Petersburg University to pursue an acting career. In 1900, Kachalov debuted at the Moscow Art Theatre, and since then played about 60 parts in directed by Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko productions, as well as in several movies.
Kachalov was named one of the first Peoples Artists of the USSR after the title was instituted in 1936 and received a Stalin Prize in 1943. He was also the recipient of the two Orders of Lenin. After his death in 1948, the Kazan State Theatre was given the name of Vasily Kachalov.
Sources: Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance, Wikipedia.

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