Nina Simonovich-Efimova

Nina Simonovich-Efimova
Нина Симонович-Ефимова
Simonovich-Efimova in 1930
Born	Nina Yakovlevna Simonovich (1877-01-21)21 January 1877 Saint Petersburg, Russia
Died	24 February 1948(1948-02-24) (aged 71) Moscow, Soviet Union
Nationality	Russian
Other names	Nina Simonovicha
Occupation(s)	artist, puppeteer
Years active	1918–1948
Known for	creating the foundations of the Russian puppetry genre

Nina Yakovlevna Simonovich-Efimova (Russian: Нина Яковлевна Симонович-Ефимова, 9 January 1877 OS/21 January 1877 N.S.^[1] – 24 February 1948)^[2] was a Russian artist, puppet designer and one of the first professional Russian puppeteers. Together with her husband Ivan Efimov she founded the tradition of Soviet puppet theater, acting as the driving force behind the Efimovs' presentations.

Born in Saint Petersburg into a family with German-Jewish roots whose professionals included merchants, doctors, composers and academics, Simonovich-Efimova was highly educated, spending almost two decades studying art in both Russia and Paris to perfect her craft. Skilled in etching, watercolor and oil painting, she helped revive silhouette art in 20th-century Russia.

Having performed in parlor theatricals as a child, from 1916 Simonovich-Efimova began staging puppet shows for fellow artists. The plays were so well received that she and her husband were invited to create a children's puppet theater by the Russian authorities in 1918, becoming two of the first professional puppeteers in Russia. She created innovative designs to make her manikins lifelike, promoting her work by publishing books and teaching puppetry theory and design. She and her husband are known as the first couple of Russian puppetry, though she was the one determined to elevate the craft. They performed over 1,500 shows throughout Russia between 1920 and 1940, moving from place to place with their traveling puppet theater.

Inspired by the people she met and the countryside she experienced as they traveled across Russia, Simonovich-Efimova continued to paint throughout her life. While many of her scenes depict landscapes and historic architecture, she was also known for her works of women in traditional costume going about their daily lives. She also created a series of sketches while working at the First Mobile Hospital during World War II. Her works from the "Wounded Warrior" period sought to capture the courageous efforts of the soldiers she tended. Examples of her work are held in major Russian museums.