SOPHIA || Christa Zaat

Christa Zaat



Emily Shanks (British painter) 1857 - 1936
(Russian: Эми́лия Я́ковлевна Шанкс)
Девочка, собирающая огурцы (A Girl Picking up Cucumbers), before 1913
oil on canvas
74 x 66.5 cm. (29.1 x 26.2 in.)
signed lower right: Е. Шанксъ
private collection

Emily Shanks (1857-1936), was the second daughter of James Shanks senior(1826-1911). Emily studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture and was the first woman to be made a full member of the Peredvizhniki- the Russian Society for Travelling Art Exhibitions. Emily learnt anatomy at the anatomy school of a Russian hospital. Emily's paintings are much admired in Russia and are on display at the Tretyakov gallery and have recently been included in touring exhibitions of works of the Russian Society for Travelling Art Exhibitions or Peredvizhniki..
Emily died on 13 January 1936 aged 78 years, at Holland road Kensington South.

Emily’s older sister Louise Shanks translated Tolstoy’s novels into English, these translations were published by the Oxford University Press and were considered the best translations of their day. Emily’s younger sister Mary was a friend of Tolstoy’s oldest daughter Tatyana, the visitor book records that both Emily and Mary were visitors to the Tolstoy family home.