Nadia Benois

Nadezhda Leontievna Ustinova (Надежда Леонтьевна Устинова), née Benois (Бенуа), better known as Nadia Benois (27 April 1896 – 8 December 1975), was a Russian painter of still life and landscape, and stage designer. Her father Leon Benois belonged to the Benois family. Nadezhda studied how to be an artist at St. Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts. In 1920, Benois moved along with her husband, Jona Ustinov to London. In the course of her travels, Benois painted the impressionist landscapes of London street, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland. She exhibited her works in the Goupil, Redfern, Beaux-Arts, and other galleries, and is mentioned in multiple Journals from the Royal Arts Society. Some of her still-lives were acquired by the Tate Gallery in 1936. She also designed the stage for the ballet Cap over Mill, which was part of the Dark Elegies. Later in life, Benois used her talents to help the career of her son Peter Ustinov, who won the Benjamin Franklin medal in 1958, by formatting the screenplays and plays and creating costumes and sets for the films Vice Versa and Private Angelo.

Notable works

• "Kensington Gardens" (Manchester City Art Gallery, 1937)
• "Three Women Painters" (Michael Parkin Gallery, 1975)

Design productions

• "Dark Elegies"(1937)
• "The Sleeping Princess" (1939)