NEVEZHINA, VERA

In 1897, graduating from the Moscow Elizavetinsky Institute, she moved to St. Petersburg where she studied in the Philology Faculty of the Higher Women's Courses. In 1903–1906, she continued her studies in the Philosophy Faculty of the Heidelberg University. Since 1901, she worked for different publishing houses of Moscow and St. Petersburg. In 1912–1918, she taught foreign literature in the Stroganov School of Arts and Industries. In 1918–1923, she worked in the People's Commissariat for Education. In 1919, she completed a course in museum studies and started working in the Rumyantsev Museum as a curator of art books. In 1924, the Print Cabinet became a part of the Museum of Fine Arts where Nevezhina worked for thirty-three years until her retirement in 1957.

She was the head of the Print Cabinet in 1938–1941 and 1945–1957, the only person to retain this place for about twenty years. Her excellent broad education, her great knowledge of the history of arts in general and the history of graphic arts in particular, her ability to stay away from the interior intrigues of the establishment, her tolerance of other employees of the Print Cabinet permitted her to stay at the head of the Cabinet for so long and become a model for her successors.

When Vera Nevezhina started to work in the Department of Graphic Arts, she studied English prints. Later she became specialist also in German and Dutch graphic art, created exhibitions and catalogs, wrote articles and papers. Her main works include: Современная английская гравюра и литография. Москва 1926 (Modern English Engraving and Lithography); Нюрнбергские граверы XVI века в ГМИИ. Москва, 1930 (Nuremberg Engravers of the 16th century in the Museum of Fine Arts); Рембрандт. Москва, 1936 (Rembrandt); Рубенс. Москва, 1938 (Rubens); Очерки по истории и технике гравюры. Москва, 1941 (Sketches on the History and Techniques of Printing) (she was the editor and wrote two essays for the book); Голландский рисунок XVII века. Москва, 1974 (Dutch drawings of 17th century. Written together with Т. А. Tseshkovskaya). She also translated books by Heinrich Wölfflin and René Descartes: Вельфлин Г.К. Классическое искусство. Санкт-Петербург, 1912 (Classical Art); Декарт Р. Метафизические размышления. Санкт-Петербург, 1901 (Metaphysical Meditaitions / Meditations on First Philosophy).