8 May] 1892 - 1967) (née Shchekatikhina) was a Russian porcelain artist, illustrator, painter, and theatre set designer.
She was particularly inspired by Russian folklore and icons, and her style is recognised for its bright colours, and placing great emphasis on costume.
After failing her entrance exam at the Imperial Academy of Arts, she entered the Drawing School of the Society of Artists, where she studied under Nicholas Roerich and Ivan Bilibin.
Shchekatikhina studied for several months at the Académie Ranson in Paris under Maurice Denis, Félix Vallotton, and Paul Sérusier.
[4] Shchekatikhina worked on several theatrical projects with Roerich, including the Snow Maiden and Swan Lake.
She assisted Roerich with the design of the ballet The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky for Sergei Diaghilev's production in 1913.
[4][2] In 1918, Shchekatikhina was recruited by the graphic artist Sergey Chekhonin to join the State Porcelain Factory.
At that time, the primary focus of production was artistic propaganda to praise the new Soviet state.
[2][3] Porcelain was recognised as a medium that could easily disseminate powerful ideological messages while being decorative, and as such Shchekatikhina is considered an important revolutionary artist.
At the suggestion of her former teacher Ivan Bilibin, she went abroad to Germany to become acquainted with the work of the Royal Porcelain Factory in Berlin.
When his relationship with artist Ludmila Chirikova-Shnitnikova ended in April 1922, Ivan Bilibin was anticipating to follow her to Europe.
She participated in group exhibitions of Russian artists in Paris, Birmingham (1928), Brussels (1928), Belgrade (1930), and Prague (1935).
She painted porcelain for the Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres, which included dishes, vases, and plates.
She worked with Bilibin on the sets for the 1929 opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.
[4] During the summers from 1927 to 1936, the family spent their time in La Favière, where they had purchased a small plot of land with other Russian émigrés.