Ivan Pranishnikoff

1841-1909

Russian (New York, New York; Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, France)

Born in Moscow, Russia, Ivan Pranishnikoff became known for his richly-colored depictions in oil, watercolor, and drawings of military subjects, especially the Russian cavalry on maneuvers. He also did scenes of American frontier military Indian genre. His formal art education began in 1858 in Rome where he studied with Nicolai Gay at the Academie de peinture. In 1861, he worked independently in Florence before going to Paris to study with Charles-Gabriel Gleyre.

In 1870, he went to America and visited New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, and in 1871, he went into Quebec, Canada and worked as an illustrator in Montreal during 1874. He returned to New York and did illustration assignments for Harper's Weekly. One of these commissions took him to Texas and Indian territories where he sketched US military personnel and Indians. In 1880, he returned to France and made regular trips to Russia, where in 1887, he was appointed official military painter by Czar Alexander III. He was also an amateur archaeologist and worked on excavation sites in Italy and southern France.