Masha Archer • Biography

Masha, aka Maria Muchin-Archer, was born in Kiev, Ukraine to Sophia and Mykola Muchin, both artists and teachers of painting and sculpture at the Kiev and Kharkov Art institutes. After spending post-war years in Europe, they emigrated to the United States in 1949. Masha has resided in San Francisco since 1967 with her husband, photographer Charles Archer (who died in 1993), along with her two daughters, Maya and Larissa.

Education and Early Work

She studied at Pratt Institute in New York City, majoring in painting and graphic design. Later she worked as a restorer and exhibitor at the Museo Nacional de Mexico, Mexico City, and designed jewelry and clothing in Tucson and San Francisco.

Honors and Special Recognition

• 1997: Sponsored by Aeroflot and Russian Consulate for a series of one-artist shows in Moscow, St Petersberg, and Kiev.
• 1997: Masha's jewelry show was chosen to open the "Days of Russia Festival" in San Francisco (organized jointly by the Russian Consulate and the Serge Sorokko Gallery on the West Coast).
• 1995: Masha Archer was named "Art-to-Wear Jewelry Designer, USA" by the New York Fashion Group in an event sponsored by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
  
• 1996: Provided 50 original necklaces to the Great Lakes Theater Festival (Cleveland, Ohio) for a modern-dress production of Shakespeare's 'Antony and Cleopatra.'
• 1997: Provided 10 original necklaces to the Opera Manhattan company (NY, NY) for a concert production of Massenet's 'Cleopatra' at Sarah Lawrence College and Alice Tully Hall .

Clients and Collectors