On 18th April 2026, the former apartment-studio of Ernst Karlovich Liphart (1847-1932) – the famous court artist of Emperor Nicholas II, will go under the hammer at the Litfond Auction House in St. Petersburg. Its price starts at 110 million rubles [$1.3 million USD].

Liphart’s heirs managed to preserve the historical layout of the apartment-studio, conceived more than 120 years ago by the painter and portraitist. Recall that during his years in the Russian capital, Liphart painted more than half a dozen portraits of Nicholas II (see below).

Located at 16 Kamennoostrovsky Prospekt, this great workshop is a real monument of architecture and art of the early 20th century. The area of the four-level apartment-studio is 150 square meters [1,614 sq. ft.].

PHOTO: Liphart in hist St. Petersburg studio. 1914

The Art Nouveau building was built in 1906 by architect Vasily Schaub. A huge multi-meter window overlooking Austrian Square and Kamennoostrovsky Prospekt, a hall with columns, an oval office and a secluded tower with round windows – perspective buyers will not find such an apartment anywhere in St. Petersburg.

The history of the workshop on the upper floors of the apartment did not end with Liphart’s departure. Another artist, Vladimir Maksimovich Sokolov (1909-1991), lived and worked here. His works, dedicated to the theme of the struggle for peace and humanity, are now stored in the funds of the largest museums in Russia.

PHOTO: the former apartment-studio of Ernst Liphart is located
at 16 Kamennoostrovsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg

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PHOTO: Baron Ernst Karlovich von Liphart. 1910

Baron Ernest Karlovich von Liphart (1847-1932) was a Russian painter and graphic artist who is known for his numerous portraits of E,peror Nicholas II, members of the Russian Imperial Family, and other famous Russian public figures.

He was born into a Livonian noble family on 2nd September (O.S. 21st August) 1847. His father, Baron Carl Eduard von Liphart (1808-1891), was an art connoisseur.

Initially Ernst  studied painting at the Florence Academy of Fine Arts and then in Paris. From his father, he inherited a deep knowledge in the field of art history. He studied the history of painting in museums in Germany, Spain, England and Italy. From 1877 he exhibited his paintings at the Paris Salon.

Having received an order from the Russian Emperor Alexander III for two paintings on the subject of reasonable and unreasonable wives, in 1886 he brought them to St. Petersburg and remained there until his death in 1932. In 1886-1896, Liphart taught decorative painting at the Drawing School of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts.

PHOTOS: Ernst Liphart painted more than half a dozen portraits of Nicholas II.
Source: ‘Nicholas II. Portraits‘ – published in 2021

He was very popular as a decorator and portraitist. His paintings have been preserved in many St. Petersburg mansions and palaces: Marble Palace of Grand Duke Konstaintin Konstantinovich, three decorative panels for the palace of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich at 122 Moika, in the Derviz Mansion, in the theater of the Yusupov Palace and others.

He was a member of the Society of Watercolorists from its very foundation. From 1886 to 1896 he served as a teacher of decorative painting at the drawing school of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. 

In 1895, during the renovation of the Hermitage Theater in the Winter Palace, Ernst Liphart developed a sketch according to which the curtain for this theater were made. n 1912 he compiled a catalogue of the collection of paintings, and from 1906 to 1929 he served as chief curator of the Hermitage Picture Gallery.

Baron Ernest Karlovich von 14th April 1932. Liphart died in Leningrad [St. Petersburg] on He was buried at the Smolensk Lutheran cemetery, the oldenst non-Orthodox cemetery in the city; the grave is not marked

© Paul Gilbert. 20 March 2026