Nikolai Shchekotov

Born May 18 (30), 1884, in Moscow; died there Dec. 6, 1945. Russian and Soviet art historian, art critic, and artist.

From 1902 to 1908, Shchekotov attended lectures at the Polytechnic Academy in Friedberg and at the Engineering School in Mannheim. During that period he also traveled in Greece, Italy, Germany, and Austria. He first studied ancient Russian art with I. S. Ostroukhov; at the same time (1910–11) he studied painting at K. F. Iuon’s school in Moscow. In 1918 he began his career as a critic, publicist, and museum official. Shchekotov was a member of the collegium of the People’s Commissariat of Education from 1918 to 1922, director of the Russian Historical Museum from 1921 to 1925, and director of the Tret’iakov Gallery in 1925 and 1926. He was a member of the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia from 1923 to 1932. His principal theoretical works are on the history of Russian and Soviet art.