Purvit Wilhelm Egorovich

Purvit (Purvitis) Wilhelm-Karl (Wilhelm Karlis) Egorovich. Latvian artist, master of landscape, representative of Art Nouveau, one of the founders of modern Latvian art. He studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts (1890–1895) with A.I. Kuindzhi. In 1898 he visited Berlin, Paris, Vienna, Dusseldorf. Traveled extensively throughout Western Europe, visiting Iceland and Spitsbergen. He worked in Riga and various places in rural Latvia (before 1906 and since 1909), as well as in Tallinn (1906–1909). In 1917–1919 he lived in Norway. He was a member of the “Rukis” (“Worker”) circle, which included Latvian students of the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg (late 1880s - 1900) and the Riga Society for the Encouragement of Arts (or Riga Kunstverein). He worked very fruitfully as a teacher: he served as director of the Riga City Art School (1909–1916), which in 1919 was transformed into the Latvian Academy of Arts. In the latter, Purvitis was rector (1919–1934); leaving this position, he continued to manage the landscape workshop.