Lyubov Sergeyevna Popova

Lyubov Sergeyevna Popova is a Russian artist who is best known for her contributions to Russian art in the form of Cubism and Futurism, and for being one of the first female pioneers of those styles. She was also an important figure in the Russian avant-garde. In addition to her painting, Popova was an accomplished graphic artist, textile designer, theatrical set designer, and art teacher. 

Lyubov Popova was born in 1889 to a wealthy family living in Moscow. Her parents were textile merchants who appreciated the arts and encouraged her to study them from a young age. She took her first art lessons at age 11 before enrolling in the School of Painting and Drawing in Moscow, where she was first introduced to western Impressionism. Later, thanks to her wealthy background, she was able to travel extensively through Europe to study art. Paris was an especially important location that Popova visited because it introduced her to Cubism and the French avant-garde. 

By the time WWI ended, Moscow had become the center for the Russian avant-garde. Popva contributed to many exhibitions during the 1917 Russian Revolution and began to shift her focus to non-representational art. Later, during the civil war that followed the revolution, Popova painted propaganda for the revolutionaries and altered the style of her art from abstract to Constructivist. Additionally, she taught art at the State Free Art Schools and was a member of the Institute of Artistic Culture. Popova spent the last few years of her short life designing and creating theatre sets, textiles, and printed materials for the new Russian society. Tragically, Popva died of scarlet fever at only 35 years old, but the impact she had on Russian art and culture is undeniably important.