Emily Shanks, also known as Emiliya Yakovlevna Shanks (russian: Эми́лия Я́ковлевна Шанкс; 1 August 1857, in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

– 13 January 1936, in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

), was a British painter living in Moscow. She was the first woman to be elected to the Russian Society for Travelling Art Exhibitions or

Peredvizhniki Peredvizhniki ( rus, Передви́жники, , pʲɪrʲɪˈdvʲiʐnʲɪkʲɪ), often called The Wanderers or The Itinerants in English, were a group of Russian realist artists who formed an artists' cooperative in protest of academic restr ...

Early life

Emily Shanks was born in Moscow, the second daughter of James Steuart Shanks and Mary Louisa Schilling. James arrived in Moscow in 1852 where he went into partnership with Swede Henrik Conrad Bolin to found Shanks & Bolin, Magasin Anglais (The English Shop). The shop was financially successful and the Shanks family led a comfortable life allowing the daughters the time and means to engage with the Moscow intelligentsia. Emily's older sister Louise Shanks married

Aylmer Maude Aylmer Maude (28 March 1858 – 25 August 1938) and Louise Maude (1855–1939) were English translators of Leo Tolstoy's works, and Aylmer Maude also wrote his friend Tolstoy's biography, ''The Life of Tolstoy''. After living many years in Russi ...

and translated Tolstoy's novels into English; these translations were published by the

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

and were considered the best translations of their day. Emily's younger sister Mary was a friend of Tolstoy's eldest daughter Tatyana; the visitor book records that both Emily and Mary were visitors to the Tolstoy family home. Emily commenced her studies at the

Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture The Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (russian: Московское училище живописи, ваяния и зодчества, МУЖВЗ) also known by the acronym MUZHZV, was one of the largest educational insti ...

around 1882 where she was instructed by prominent members of the

Vasily Polenov Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov (Russian: Васи́лий Дми́триевич Поле́нов; 1 June 1844 – 18 July 1927) was a Russian landscape painter associated with the Peredvizhniki movement of realist artists. His contemporaries would c ...

Vladimir Makovsky Vladimir Yegorovich Makovsky (russian: Влади́мир Его́рович Мако́вский; 26 January (greg.: 7 February) 1846, Moscow – 21 February 1920, Petrograd) was a Russian painter, art collector, and teacher. Biography Makovs ...

and

Illarion Pryanishnikov Illarion Mikhailovich Pryanishnikov (russian: Илларио́н Миха́йлович Пря́нишников; – ) was a Russian painter, one of the founders of the Peredvizhniki artistic cooperative, which broke away from the rigors ...

. In 1890 she was awarded a "large silver medal" by the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture for her painting ''Reading a letter''. She graduated that year with the rank of 'artist'.

The Peredvizhniki and the Polenov circle

Shanks formed a friendship with the Russian painter and designer Yelena Polenova and her brother

. Emily and her sister Mary would regularly paint together with the Polenovs, this is particularly well documented in the Polenov letters from the winter of 1891–1892. In 1891 Emily’s painting ''Older Brother'' (Старший брат) was accepted by the Peredvizhniki for exhibition. On 7 March 1891 Vasily Polenov wrote to his wife Natalia Polenov that this painting had caught the attention of the Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna who expressed interest. In 1892 Shanks's painting ''New Girl at School'' was accepted by the Peredvizhniki for exhibition. The painting was lauded by

Ilya Repin Ilya Yefimovich Repin (russian: Илья Ефимович Репин, translit=Il'ya Yefimovich Repin, p=ˈrʲepʲɪn); fi, Ilja Jefimovitš Repin ( – 29 September 1930) was a Russian painter, born in what is now Ukraine. He became one of the ...

and subsequently sold to

Pavel Tretyakov Pavel Mikhaylovich Tretyakov (russian: Па́вел Миха́йлович Третьяко́в; 27 December 1832 – 16 December 1898) was a Russian businessman, patron of art, collector, and philanthropist who gave his name to the Tretyakov Ga ...

and is still owned by the

Tretyakov Gallery The State Tretyakov Gallery (russian: Государственная Третьяковская Галерея, ''Gosudarstvennaya Tretyâkovskaya Galereya''; abbreviated ГТГ, ''GTG'') is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, which is considered th ...

. In 1894 Shanks was elected to membership of the Peredvizhniki for her the painting ''Inkspot''. She became the first woman to be elected as a full member of the Peredvizhniki. From 1891 to 1915 Shanks exhibited with the Peredvizhniki at 19 of their exhibitions. Shanks also exhibited with The Moscow Union of Artists and the Moscow Society for Lovers of the Arts and the Moscow Lemercier Gallery

Exile from Russia

At the outbreak of the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Emily and most of the Shanks family moved back to London. The family business and home were lost during the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

. In 1916 and 1918 she exhibited her work at the summer exhibition at Royal Academy of Arts. She showed two paintings: 1916 ''A bit of Moscow'' and 1918 ''Peaceful Moscow''. Shanks died on 13 January 1936, aged 78 years, at Holland Road,

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensington Garden ...

Paintings

File:Emily Shanks Nanny.JPG, ''Nanny'' (ca. 1900), oil on canvas – private collection File:Shanks 001.jpg, '' 'In the colors (Portrait of the daughter of

), (between 1890 and 1900), oil on canvas – private collection File:Emily Shanks The Girl.jpg, ''Girl'', (between 1880 and 1915), oil on canvas – private collection File:Emily Shanks A girl picking up cucumbersl.jpg, ''Girl picking cucumbers'', oil on canvas – private collection File:Emily Shanks Newcomer at School.jpg, ''New Girl at School'' (1892), oil on canvas – State Tretyakov Gallery File:Emily Shanks Employing a Governess.jpg, ''Employing a Governess'', oil on canvas – Tyumen Regional Museum of Fine Arts File:Emily Shanks Scene in a Russian Hospital The Ear Inspection.jpg, ''Ear Inspection'', oil on canvas – Chelmsford Museum Other paintings: *''The Lesson'' (1887), privately owned *''Older brother'', exhibited with the Peredvizhniki in 1891, location unknown *''The Challenge'', location unknown *''Inkspot'', exhibited with the Peredvizhniki in 1894, location unknown *''My Favourite Doll'', unknown owner and unknown date * Work in th
Syzransky Museum

Samara Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara rivers, with a population ...

*''Double Portrait of

and Stella Meldrum'',''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography's'' entry for Maude privately owned *''A Bit of Moscow'', exhibited

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

1916 *''Peaceful Moscow'' exhibited

1918 *''Portrait of Aylmer Maude'', privately owned *''Portrait of Nial McLeland'', around 1895, privately owned *''Portrait of Natalia Vasilievna Polenova (1858 – 1931)'', wife of Vasily Polenov, 1894, Polenovo museum *''Tsarina's Golden Chamber'', depicts the Tsarina's Golden Chamber, privately owned

Notes

* Shanks' Russian name ''Yakovlevna'' or ''Jakovlevna'' is a

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

from her father's name, James.

References

External links

Yulia Tulinova, ''Emily and Mary Shanks. Russian-Born Englishwomen Among the Peredvizhniki'' in Tretyakov Gallery Magazine #3 2022 (76), Special edition

Shanks Family History

W A Bolin

Harkness, Kristen M. (1991) ELENA POLENOVA, MARIIA IAKUNCHIKOVA. AND THE EMERGENCE OF MODERN ART IN RUSSIA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shanks, Emily 1857 births 1936 deaths Artists from Moscow Russian women painters 19th-century painters from the Russian Empire 20th-century Russian painters 19th-century British painters 20th-century British painters Peredvizhniki 19th-century British women artists 20th-century British women artists 19th-century women artists from the Russian Empire 20th-century Russian women artists Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture alumni