Artist Svetlana Valueva

Moscow, 1966

 

Svetlana Valueva was accepted into art school at the tender age of six - an astonishing child prodigy. By the age of 8, she was winning international exhibitions and at age 11, was featured in a documetary on outstanding artists that was shown in theaters across Russia. By then, her father, a gifted artist himself, had given her his own studio. Also, she had been secretly shown the fantastical works of artists like Klimt, Alfons Mucha, Sargent, and Alma-Tadema, whose styles were quite forbidden in Soviet era Russia. However, this discovery was the springboard for Valueva's exquisite Art Nouveau-inspired vision. She began to attract scores of collectors and dealers who smuggled her work out to avid admirers around the world, until the Art Academy finally allowed her a summer trip to study in Europe. From there, Valueva easily gained international acclaim, and remains one of Russia's most outstanding artists.