Born in Vladimir, Russia in 1886 into a family of artists, Podchernikoff first studied art with his grandfather, Dmitri Zolotarieff and later with Illya Repin and Verestchagin. In Moscow he was awarded a gold medal and his work "My Beloved Russian Woods" was purchased by the Royal Art Commission. After the Russo-Japanese War, he immigrated to the United States and settled in San Francisco. In 1913 an art dealer from Santa Barbara convinced Podchernikoff to move there. A painting of his Santa Barbara studio appeared on the front cover of Literary Digest, March 10, 1928. Although he spent the last 20 years of his life in Southern California, he returned often to San Francisco to paint scenes of Marin County and the northern coast. He is well known for his landscapes done in the manner of Corot. His last years were spent in Pasadena where he died on October 31, 1933 of tuberculosis.

Biography courtesy of DeRu's Fine Arts, www.antiquesandfineart.com/derus