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Biographical/Historical Information

Else Argutinsky-Dolgorukow (née Elsabeth Fleischer) was born November 24, 1873 in Reichenbach, a town not far from Wrocław. She began her artistic training at the Academy of Performing Arts in Wroclaw and then continued it in Berlin. In 1898, she married Russian Grand Prince Peter Mikhailovich Argutinsky-Dolgorukov, a physician and university professor, and moved with him to Kazan (Russia). After becoming a widow in 1911, she remained in Kazan until the outbreak of the First World War. However, as a single widow and without the protection of her husband, her situation there became too dangerous and she moved to one of the Dolgorukov family estates near Tbilisi. When the Russian Revolution reached the Caucasus, it became too dangerous for the artist there too: as the wife of a Grand Duke, she would have been liquidated immediately. Towards the end of the First World War, she managed to flee to Berlin with forged papers. She reclaimed her German citizenship and devoted herself intensively to painting again, taking part in exhibitions and giving private drawing lessons. On November 4, 1942, Else Argutinsky-Dolgorukow was deported to Theresienstadt. Despite her age, she was lucky enough to find work in the technical drawing office there. This job helped her to improve her living conditions in the camp and also gave her access to the artist studios and materials. The artist lived to see the liberation of Theresienstadt and lived in Berlin until her death, passing away unexpectedly in 1953 while under anesthesia for an operation. (source: https://www.exilarchiv.de, translation help from DeepL Translate app).

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Citation

Argutinsky-Dolgorukow, Else: Portfolio of drawings from Theresienstadt, Leo Baeck Institute, 2023.121a-m.