Background
She was born in Helsinki, Finland, where her parents lived in political exile from the Czarist régime. Her father was Socialist poltitical figure Nikolai Avksentiev
Her father became Minister of the Interior in the Kerensky government.
Career
In 1921, Alexandra was accepted into the studio of the Russian neo-classic artists Vasil Shukhaev and Aleksandr Yakovlev in Montparnasse. In 1928, Alexandra graduated from the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Decoratifs and continued her studies with Natalia Goncharova. The couple fled to New York in 1940, after the Nazi invasion of France leaving behind 300 works.
They moved into a Manhattan apartment overlooking Central Park, which also become Alexandra’s studio.
In later years she exhibited regularly, including in Paris in 1947. She also illustrated Russian literary works, the Jewish Bible and the Haggadah (Jewish Passover service).
Membership
She had her first exhibition in the United States in 1943 showing 36 paintings and in 1944 Alexandra Pregel was accepted as a member of the National Association of Women Artists.