Biography
Nikolai Nikolaevich Kupreyanov (Kouprianoff) (b. Wloclawska, Poland 1894 - d. 1933) was the grand-nephew of M. Y. Lermontov and nephew of M. A. Kuzmin. Kupreyanov spent his childhood in the village Selishche near Kostroma. Since 1901 he lived in St Petersburg, Russia. Kupreyanov studied at the Princess M. K. Tenisheva’s Commercial College (finished in 1912) and at the faculty of law at St Petersburg (Petrograd) University (1912-15). At the same time he studied at the workshops under D. N. Kardovsky (1912–1914) and K. S. Petrov-Vodkin (1915–1916). Kupreyanov studied technique of wood engraving under the guidance of A. P. Ostroumova-Lebedeva (1912–1917). Kupreyanov participated in the exhibitions since 1917. He exhibited his works at the Art Bureau of N. E. Dobychina (1917), at the First State Independent Art Exhibition in Petrograd (1919). In 1919 Kupreyanov lectured at the Higher Institute of Photography and Photo technique.
In 1920 Kupreyanov moved to the village Selishche. Since 1922 he lived in Moscow, and spent summer months in Selishche. Since 1922 Kupreyanov worked as an associate professor at the Higher State Artistic and Technical Workshops (VKhUTEMAS), and then in 1925–1930 he lectured at the Higher Art Technical Institute (VKhUTEIN) at the faculty of lithograph. In 1921–1924 Kupreyanov worked a lot in the genre of political caricature; he cooperated with the magazines Krokodil (“Crocodile”), Bezbozhnik (“Atheist”), Pioneer and others. Kupreyanov was also engaged in book graphic art, especially children’s book.
Since 1924 Kupreyanov was a member and exhibitor of the Society of Easel Artists (OST), since 1925 — the society Four Arts. In 1925 Kupreyanov participated in the World exhibition of new decorative and industrial art in Paris. In 1925–1927 he drew a series of drawings Factory, Transport, Railroad, in 1927–1928 — Evenings in Selishche. In 1926–1929 Kupreyanov worked on the series of drawings Herds. Kupreyanov held his first solo show in the Central Museum of the Tatar SSR (Soviet Socialist Republic) in Kazan (1926–27).
