Masha Ivashintsova (March 23, 1942 − July 13, 2000) was a Russian photographer from
Saint-Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
(then
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
, USSR) who was heavily engaged in the Leningrad poetic and photography
underground movement
During World War II, resistance movements operated in German-occupied Europe by a variety of means, ranging from non-cooperation to propaganda, hiding crashed pilots and even to outright warfare and the recapturing of towns. In many countries, r ...
of the 1960−80s.
Masha photographed prolifically throughout most of her life, but she hoarded her photo-films in the attic and rarely developed them. Only when her daughter Asya found some 30,000 negatives in their attic in 2017 did Masha's works become public. In this regard, Masha Ivashintsova's work and story have been compared to those of
Vivian Maier
Vivian Dorothy Maier (February 1, 1926 – April 21, 2009) was an American Street photography, street photographer whose work was discovered and recognized after her death. She took more than 150,000 photographs during her lifetime, primarily of ...
.
Ivashintsova died in 2000 at the age of 58.
Personal life
Masha was born into an aristocratic family whose assets were seized following the Bolshevik Revolution.
In
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
, Ivashintsova joined the city's literary and artistic underground. She worked odd jobs as a theater critic, a librarian, a cloakroom attendant, an elevator mechanic, and a security guard, amongst others. Occasionally, she would visit Asya in Moscow.
Masha was heavily engaged in the Leningrad poetic and photography of the 1960−80s. She was in relationships with photographer
Boris Smelov, poet
Viktor Krivulin
Viktor Borisovich Krivulin (; 9 July 1944 – 17 March 2001) was a Russian poet, novelist and essayist.
Biography
Krivulin graduated from the faculty of philology from Leningrad State University. He opted for independent cultural activity and ...
and linguist
Melvar Melkumyan., the latter whom she married and had a daughter, Asya Melkumyan.
Exhibitions
* ''Masha Ivashintsova, Street Photographer'' (2018),
International Center of Photography
The International Center of Photography (ICP) is a photography museum and school at 84 Ludlow Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. ICP's photographic collection, reading room, and archives are at Mana Contemporary in Jer ...
,
New York City, USA
* ''Brought to Light'' (2019), Vintage Photo Festival,
Bydgoszcz
Bydgoszcz is a city in northern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Kuyavia. Straddling the confluence of the Vistula River and its bank (geography), left-bank tributary, the Brda (river), Brda, the strategic location of Byd ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, curated by Katarzyna Gębarowska and Masha Galleries.
* ''Chiaroscuro'' (2019-2020), Juhan Kuus Documentary Photo Centre,
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...
,
Estonia
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
See also
*
Vivian Maier
Vivian Dorothy Maier (February 1, 1926 – April 21, 2009) was an American Street photography, street photographer whose work was discovered and recognized after her death. She took more than 150,000 photographs during her lifetime, primarily of ...
References
Links and sources
Masha Ivashintsova official web siteInterview: Woman Discovers Over 30,000 Secret Photos Left Behind by Her Mother // My Modern Met
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivashintsova, Masha
Photographers from Saint Petersburg
20th-century Russian photographers
Russian women photographers
20th-century Russian women artists
1942 births
2000 deaths
20th-century women photographers