Photographer: Nicholas V. Artamonoff [1]Date:March 1936
Source: Nicholas V. Artamonoff Collection
[1] Nicholas Victor Artamonoff (alternate spelling: Artamonov) was born on January 23, 1908, in Athens, Greece. Artamonoff’s father, Victor Alekseïevitch Artamonoff, was a Russian military attaché, and was stationed in Athens from 1907 to 1909. In 1909, Victor Artamonoff was transferred to Belgrade, Serbia, and the family lived there and in Russia until after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. The Artamonoff family subsequently moved again, possibly to Belgium, while Nicholas was sent to England.
Nicholas studied at multiple schools in England from 1918 to 1922. He then moved to Istanbul, were he entered Robert College, an American boys’ school, beginning in October of 1922. While at Robert College, he may have been part of a program that resettled Russian refugee children at schools across Europe, which was initiated by Thomas Whittemore, a philanthropist, devoted supporter of archaeology, and founder of the Byzantine Institute (1931-1962).
Artamonoff remained at Robert College through his high school and college careers. He graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering in 1930. His yearbook entry from that year offers insight into his photography and personality:
"An ardent photographer with a complete knowledge of his subject, Artamonoff has given the College much valuable service with his camera. He specializes in writing reports and handing them in on time. (Perhaps this is due to the experience of correcting those of the Physics students.) He is quiet and refined. He is the inventor of the “half-cigarette” which is ideal for use between periods and just before the morning exercises."
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