Alexis Arapoff

Alexis Arapoff was a Russian painter of the School of Paris. He spent his childhood in Saratov and trained at the School of Fine Arts in that same city, notably under Valentin Ioustitski (1892-1951). In 1923, he settled in Moscow where he worked as a set designer and costume designer for the theaters of Nikolaï Foregger (1892-1939) and Nikolaï Evreïnov (1879-1953). During a theatrical tour, he arrived in Paris in 1925 and chose to settle there to pursue his career as a painter.

Quickly integrated into the circle of Russian artists established in Paris, he participated in the Salon d'Automne from 1926, exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants in 1928, and then at the Salon des Tuileries in 1929 and 1930. At the same time, he took part in several exhibitions dedicated to Russian artists organized by galleries such as M. Henry in 1927, the Quatre Chemin gallery in 1928, the Zak Gallery in 1930, and the l'Époque gallery in 1931.

During his Parisian period, Alexis Arapoff devoted himself to landscape painting, still lifes, and also turned his attention to scenes of daily life. His painting, characterized by a luminous palette of bright colors, balanced compositions, and a sensitive touch, reflects a dialogue between the Russian pictorial tradition and the modern explorations of the School of Paris. His subjects, treated with simplicity and poetry, convey a particular interest in light and chromatic variations.

In 1933, Alexis Arapoff left France to settle in Boston, where he continued his career as a painter until his death in 1948. During this period, he exhibited regularly in the United States, notably at the Grace Horne Gallery in Boston in 1935, as well as at the New England Conservatory of Music and The Arts Gallery in Boston in 1938. His work then evolved towards religious subjects, while retaining his interest in landscapes, still lifes, and portraits.

Alexis Arapoff's works are now preserved in several public collections, notably at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Strasbourg, the Cabinet des estampes et des dessins in Strasbourg, and the Art Institute of Chicago.