Yakov Seryakov

Born: 1818, Kholopovo (Kostroma Province)
Died: after 1869 (?)

Self-taught sculptor. Born in the family of a serf called Pamfil Seryakov in the village of Kholopovo in Kostroma Province (1818). Moved with his family to St Petersburg, where his father traded at Apraxin Dvor (1824). Studied bone-carving independently (1830s) and carved a self-portrait from bone (1839). Took up sculpture (1844). Awarded a finger-ring for a bust of the future Tsar Alexander II (1844) and the title of carver of ivory portraits (1848). Sculpted portraits of Tsar Nicholas I (1840s), Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, Alexander Gedeonov (director of the Imperial Theatres), Alexander Pushkin’s nanny Arina Yakovleva (1850s), actor Alexander Martynov (1860), Taras Shevchenko (1862) and Vasily Samoilov (1864). Died in an unknown location (after 1869?). Contributed to exhibitions (from 1842). Contributed to the exhibitions of the Imperial Academy of Arts (1842) and St Petersburg: A Portrait of the City and its Citizens at the Russian Museum in St Petersburg (2003).

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