ANATOLE SHISTER
Russian 1884-1961

AVAILABLE WORKS

Anatole Shister was born in Odessa, Russia in 1884. He received his artistic training at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in Saint Petersburg, where he was tutored by the leading realest painter, Ilya Repin. At the turn of the 20th century, when Shister was attending the Academy, the emphasis of the teachings was on Russian subject matter of everyday people and the working countryside. It was at this time the Peredvizhniki movement of Russian realism, depicting peasants and their economic plight, was at the forefront.

Upon graduating in 1915, Shister left Russia on a government scholarship to study Italian art in Rome. However to avoid the horrors of World War I which was raging in Europe, he ended up in Manchuria and then China. While in China, he painted a portrait of the Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet and then President, Yuan Shih-Kai which helped him gain a reputation as an excellent portrait painter. However with the death of Yuan Shih-Kai in 1916, the resulting political turmoil likely led to his move to Manila in the Philippines where he became a naturalized citizen in 1921. While living in the Philippines he painted portraits of the President Quezon and the Governor General Francis Barton. In 1926 on a trip throughout South East Asia he stopped in Singapore where he was approached by the British Municipal Commission to restore portrait paintings at the Memorial Hall. The restoration included such important pieces as John Singer Sargent’s portrait of Frank Swettenham. Shister also received several commissions which kept him in Singapore where he eventually settled.

Alongside Shister there were two other Russian painters, Vasily Zasipkin and Vladimir Tretchikoff, who also settled in Singapore at the same time. These artists shared an interest in capturing the local community. In 1941, works from each artist were featured in the Fight for Freedom exhibition held at the Victoria Memorial Hall in the city. This was a joint exhibition of Singapore Society of Chinese Artists and the Singapore Art Club, and it focused on the cruelty of war and the fight against fascism for freedom. They would go on to have a profound influence of the development of the Singapore artistic community. Shister was a member of the Singapore Art Club and was active in discussions for the club’s development and the advancement of art in Singapore. He was considered to be an authoritative figure in the arts community and was known to be concerned with raising the standards of art produced by the local inhabitants. He also regularly travelled and painted in Bali and Java.

Today, Shister's work can be found in the National Museum of Singapore, and the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea.