Peter Ilyin was born in Kazan, Russia in 1887. Best known for his portrait painting, he showed early promise as an artist when he started sketching his natural surroundings. His parents supplied him with crayons and paper that fueled his interest in art throughout high school. He attended high school with his younger brother Gleb Ilyin, also an artist, and took private lessons in art outside of school. Peter studied under Professor Pashovsky and by age eighteen was one of the best artists in Kazan. In 1905 he received several mural commissions in his hometown.

His career in art was interrupted by a Russian tradition that the eldest son within an aristocratic family attend the Imperial Government Military Academy. The academy was clo...