It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Elena Oskarovna Marttila (1923 – 2022) on Saturday 25 June in Kotka, Finland. She was 99 years old and in her later years lived in her flat/studio in Kotka with little reliance on her neighbours. Until her last days, Elena strove to remain independent and avoid creating any “unnecessary troubles” to anyone. She would say: “Dependence is the most dreadful thing in life. It is worse than illness”.
In addition to being an outstanding graphic artist with her distinctive style and depth of expression, as seen in her Leningrad and Leningraders series, dedicated to the siege of Leningrad, Elena was an amazing woman with a range of qualities many of us can only aspire to. She was an extremely hard-working, honest, and self-disciplined person, placing no bets on luck or looking for favours, whilst only believing in herself and insisting that “what comes with difficulty is meant to stay with us for longer”. Having had a hard childhood, being raised by her mother who worked fulltime and had no help looking after her young daughter, Elena learnt to be independent from early days and found a rescue in drawing which mesmerised and inspired her throughout her life.
She loved people and was always generous with her time and would assist anyone in need, be it amid the deadly Siege winter when she, a 19-year-old girl of fragile health, cared for her mother and neighbours, or in the post-war years when she helped her friends and mentored her art students. “People are all very good if they are not compared to others”, she used to say with a smile.
Compassion and trust were at the core of her belief in humanity:
“Empathy, a good opinion of each other is a necessity, physiological need. It is hard to live without it… It is important to trust. Everyone has the right to trust and be trusted”.
Elena Marttila always stayed true to her principles. Her long and eventful life is proof of that. Her legacy as an artist and a human being will live on, continuing to encourage and inspire for generations to come.
Elena’s departure further wears our living connection to that incredible wartime generation that we were privileged to know personally. Let us keep their memory alive and learn from their wisdom where love for humanity and peace are the cornerstones of our life and future.
A deep bow and blessed memory to you, dear Elena Oskarovna!