Gennady Ladyzhensky

In 1872, he prepared drawings and watercolors of the sixteenth-century churches in Yaroslavl, Kostroma and Nizhny Novgorod.

In 1879, he was awarded the title of "Artist, Second Degree" and became a drawing teacher at the "Odessa Academy of Fine Arts".

He began to exhibit widely in the mid 1880s and, in 1890, became one of the founders of the "Society of South Russian Artists".

From 1892 through 1893, he toured Turkey, Crimea and the Caucasus, creating sketches of local life and customs, as well as landscapes.

Eventually, his collection encompassed not only art, but books, weapons, porcelain, furniture and various items from the Middle East.