Maria Pavlovna Chekhova () was a Russian teacher, artist, founder of the Chekhov Memorial House museum in

Yalta Yalta (: ) is a resort town, resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crime ...

, and a recipient of the

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

was her brother.

Biography

Maria Pavlovna Chekhova was born on 31 August 1863 in the city of

Taganrog Taganrog (, ) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don (river), Don River. It is in the Black Sea region. Population: Located at the site of a ...

. She entered the Mariinskaya Girls Gymnasium in 1872. After the family's bankruptcy in 1876, she moved with the family to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

where she graduated from the Filaretovski Eparkhial School for Women in 1884. From 1886 to 1904 she read lectures on history and geography in Rzhevskaya's private gymnasium for girls. In the 1890s she studied art at Stroganovka (also known as

Stroganov Moscow State Academy of Arts and Industry Russian State University of Design and Applied Arts (Stroganov University) () informally named Stroganovka (Строгановка) is one of the oldest Russian schools for the industrial, monumental and decorative art and design. The university i ...

). In 1903 she was the recipient of a gold medal on the Saint Stanislaus ribbon for assiduity in education. After the death of

, she dedicated her life to the collection and publication of the literary heritage of her brother. In 1914 Maria Chekhova donated the personal belongings of Anton Chekhov to the Chekhov Museum in

, and was present at the inauguration of the Chekhov Library designed by Chekhov's friend Fyodor Schechtel. From 1922 to 1957 she was the director of the Chekhov Museum in

. In 1935 Maria Chekhova and

Olga Knipper Olga Leonardovna Knipper-Chekhova (; – 22 March 1959) was a Russian Empire, Russian and Soviet Union, Soviet stage actress. She was married to Anton Chekhov. Knipper was among the 39 original members of the Moscow Art Theatre when it ...

visited the birth city of Chekhov, Taganrog, to participate in the events commemorating the 75th anniversary of Anton Chekhov's birth. The former Boys Gymnasium (school no. 2) was named after Chekhov ( Chekhov Gymnasium). In 1944 the Soviet government awarded Maria Chekhova with the

for her many years of work at the Chekhov Museum in Yalta and for her contribution to the publication of Chekhov's literary heritage.

References

# ''Шапочка Е.А.'' Чехова Мария Павловна // Энциклопедия Таганрога. — Таганрог: Антон, 1998. — с. 538. — . {{DEFAULTSORT:Chekhova, Maria 1863 births 1957 deaths People from Yalta People from Yekaterinoslav Governorate Artists from Taganrog Schoolteachers from the Russian Empire Anton Chekhov Stroganov Moscow State Academy of Arts and Industry alumni Artists from the Russian Empire