Alexandra's School of Folk Art
Empress Alexandra's 1916 diary is mostly a record of who she met with and at what time, but some days there are some interesting details, such as this one from 31 March 1916 where she mentions visiting her school of Folk Arts. I found this school is still in existence, and is still named for the Empress.
31 March Thursday
9.45 To town. Consecration of Church in my school of Folk Art.
12 ½ Lunch at Anichkov.
Kazan Cathedral - Quick to Hear (icon).
Warehouse - Xenia.
Back at 4.20
On the school's webpage is a bit of history about the school: "The school of folk art of Empress Alexandra Fedorovna in St. Petersburg is unique and amazing. Even when it was first opened in 1911, the need to save folk crafts was already obvious. The School Rules stated that there was a shortage of "knowledgable and artistically educated craftsmen-instructors in various branches of the art industry". Well, what can we say about these days...
The School of Folk Art, as it was originally called, is one of a number of institutions founded by Empress Alexandra Fedorovna with the help of the Women's Imperial Patriotic Society. It should be noted that this school is the last one [founded] by Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Fedorovna Romanov. The school was headed by a great friend of the Imperial Family - the artist Varvara Petrovna Schneider, a graduate of the philological department of the Bestuzhevsky courses and the school of the Society for the Promotion of Art. It was thanks to her efforts that the School of Folk Art where Varvara Petrovna taught was opened."
Translation from diary (GARF 640-1-332) copyright, George Hawkins, 2026
Photo: Empress Alexandra Feodorovna at the School of Folk Art, via VK.
(From my FB page Letters and Writings of Nicholas II and His Family - which also has links to the School's webpage as well as an album of pictures from the school's museum on VK)