Olga Ludevig

Olga Ludevig 1921-Present

Olga Nikolayevna Ludevig was born on June 7, 1921 in Petrograd to German parents. Her father was an engineer and a champion sportsman. He died in the siege of Leningrad, known now as St. Petersburg. Her mother was a librarian at the Academy of Sciences. Olga began her studies of art at the secondary art school at the Academy of Arts in Leningrad. She attended this specialized art school from 1938-1941. In the fall of 1941 she was accepted to the Surikov Institute. While at the Surikov she studied under P.D. Pokarzhevsky In 1943 Olga Ludevig and 11 other academically accomplished artists were evacuated to Samarkand, Uzbekistan for the duration of the war. It looked like Moscow might fall to the Germans so the Soviet government decided to evacuate their most promising artists who they saw as cultural assets. She received her degree from the Institute in 1951 after executing her diploma work entitled "Agtestat Zrelosti". The masterpiece of her diploma work hangs in the State Museum of Alma-Ata in Kazakhstan. Olga painted many government granted commissions commemorating events and accomplishments. These works can be found in Russia's museums, Ministry of Culture offices, and public spaces throughout Russia. Olga later married a fellow artist Nikolai Petrovich Myeshaninov.