Portrait of a Man

Born in the Kaunas suburb of Panemunė into a Jewish family, Nikol Schattenstein (1877–1954) first learned the basics of drawing in Vilnius, before studying at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts under August Eisenmenger and Kazimierz Pochwalski. He became a renowned academic portraitist, with his artistic merit being recognised by the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph I. Schattenstein represented Austria at the international Venice Biennale in 1905, 1907 and 1912. Although his academic style was praised in some circles, it faced criticism from the Viennese avant-garde, as its popularity was already fading in Europe. However, it continued to be popular in the United States. After the First World War, Schattenstein emigrated to America, where he pursued his career as a portraitist, gaining a reputation for painting the elite of American society, including wealthy industrialists, actresses and art collectors.

Text author Laura Petrauskaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album ARTISTS ON THE MOVE (2025). Compiler and text author Laura Petrauskaitė

Born in the Kaunas suburb of Panemunė into a Jewish family, Nikol Schattenstein (1877–1954) first learned the basics of drawing in Vilnius, before studying at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts under August Eisenmenger and Kazimierz Pochwalski. He became a renowned academic portraitist, with his artistic merit being recognised by the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph I. Schattenstein represented Austria at the international Venice Biennale in 1905, 1907 and 1912. Although his academic style was praised in some circles, it faced criticism from the Viennese avant-garde, as its popularity was already fading in Europe. However, it continued to be popular in the United States. After the First World War, Schattenstein emigrated to America, where he pursued his career as a portraitist, gaining a reputation for painting the elite of American society, including wealthy industrialists, actresses and art collectors.

Text author Laura Petrauskaitė

Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album ARTISTS ON THE MOVE (2025). Compiler and text author Laura Petrauskaitė