Victor Karlovich Stember
1863 - 1921
Portraitist of dancers, princes, and family. Moscow and St. Petersburg, 1863-1921. Cataloged and told by his descendants.
Welcome
Thank You for visiting!
This website was built and is maintained by direct descendants of Victor Stember to preserve his memory and attempt to catalogue his complete collection of artwork.
We are always searcing for more details about his life to add to his legacy. If you have any information or pictures of Victor's artwork you would like to contribue to this website, please use the link below where you can enter details or upload photos or image files:
“What a big mistake we, intelligent people, are making by not keeping a diary, by not jotting down successively the events of our life, or our inner reactions. Not only the minor experiences, but also our life's big events are forgotten and disappear without a trace, while we ourselves continue to live as if separated from our past, living only for the present moment, hoping for a future which in its turn gradually passes into oblivion.”
The family of Victor Karlovich Stember chose to develop this website of some of his works for the purpose of acquainting the world with his life, his love of painting and the magnificent paintings he produced of the famous and infamous, Prince and servant, family and stranger and always of secluded countrysides in which to pose a lovely lady.
We are fortunate that Victor had the foresight to have many photos taken of the paintings in his studios from an era when photography was a luxury. We are in hopes that this pictorial documentation will be used by collectors and museums who might have some of his paintings and contact us so we could include additional information of their whereabouts.
The paintings depicted in the site come from a variety of sources, most notably from the artists daughter Natasha who fled Russia preceding the 1917 Revolution and the artists wife Nadia who was able to leave Russia a few years later to join her daughter in New York. They brought family photos, some of the paintings with them and monumental treasures of Victors Memoirs and a Diary of the last three years of his life. The Diary is printed here in its entirety and when read will present a "Zhivago-esque" story of the Stember family during the 1917 Revolution; a story of love, loss, uncertainty and in the end the death of the artist. It is truly remarkable and moving and the family encourages readers to enjoy it. It was translated to English in 1985 by Olga Fuhrman, a family member.
Other photos have been contributed by family members of the artist who are still in Russia and through their efforts to locate additional paintings. Still others have been found through diligence of family and friends who continue to search and discover his art. It is the hope of the family that this website produces additional information, clarification and expansion of the knowledge of the art by this notable artist, Victor Karlovich Stember.
Latest Updates
- Newly identified work added to the catalog: “Portrait of Lyolya Kuznets” (1913), found through a 2021 auction record.
- Newly identified work added to the catalog: “Seated Nude,” a signed painting found through online research.
- Newly identified work added to the catalog: “Lively Beach in Veules” (1897), a coastal scene signed and dated directly on the canvas.
- Newly identified work added to the catalog: “Portrait of Daughter Ksenia,” confirmed through facial comparison with other verified portraits of her.
- Newly identified work added to the catalog: a “Carmen”-style portrait, confirmed by a matching studio background shared with catalog art-151 and art-148.
- Catalog title corrected: “Nude with Irises,” authenticated by a State Russian Museum expert committee and previously listed as an unknown title.
- New photograph added for “Prince N.F. Yusupov,” confirmed by the family as the same painting.
- Catalog title corrected: “Portrait of Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna,” painted from life in 1901 and previously misidentified as Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.
- Catalog title corrected: “Portrait of a Young Nun,” found at the Lipetsk Museum and previously listed as an unknown title.
- Newly identified work added to the catalog: “Portrait of a Girl,” signed by Stember and captioned “Nadia” at auction, though not a portrait of his daughter of that name (see art-98).
