Heinrich Enfield

Artist, decorator, sculptor, architect

Born in Riga, Latvia, on 20 October 1885, in a German-Latvian family.

Having graduated from an art college in Moscow, Enfield became a refugee from the Bolshevik revolution and spent several years in Sakhaline, in Russia's Far East, before arriving in Shanghai in 1926. 

For the first two years he worked as an artist for hire and a specialist in building projects and reconstruction. Together with G. Yastreb, he designed the scenery for the Russian Cossacks' Ball in December 1927. In May 1928, his murals in the newly opened Russian Artists' Club Phoenix, at 8 Yates Road, received much praise: "The mural panels on the hall and tearooms downstairs and up [...] show considerable feeling and a great deal of color for the stories of the pre-Slavonic period, being depictions of the Boyar themes and of the pre-Christian legends of the Russian race. Mr. Enfield remains in memory because of the strikingness and depth of beauty in some small transcriptions of settings which were features of the Russian room at the China Society of Science and Arts exhibition held here in 1924." (TCP, 8 May 1928) For the Club's gala in June 1928, Enfield directed the "bronze" human tableux vivant with the dancers Mr. and Mrs Artinelli.

In 1929 he registered his own firm, Enfield & Co., at 614 Avenue Foch, which specialized in architecture, design and reconstruction. Russian Mutual Credit Corp. and Russian Emigrants' Club operated from the same address. 

Enfield was in charge of the decoration of the Canidrome for the Christmas gala in 1934. Credited alternatively as G. Enfield and H. J. Enfield, he was the designer of costumes and stage sets for the Russian opera at the Lyceum Theatre, such as Rigoletto (1937), Traviata (1937), Pescheurs de Perles (1938), as well as Hawaiian Nights scenery for the Spring Ball at the Majestic Cafe (1938). 

In 1941, Enfield redesigned the residence for R. B. Mauchan, located at 201 Route Dupleix, which later served as the home of Shanghai mayor K. C. Wu (Wu Guozhen 吴国桢). The building is richly decorated inside and outside with stone sculptures, stained glass and molded ornaments.

From 1946 Enfield worked privately and then switched exclusively to painting. Four of his paintings are reproduced in the album Diamond Jubilee of the International Settlement (1940). In 1950, he was teaching drawing at the art club L'Atelier.

In 1957, Enfield and his wife Irina (née Kovaleff) left China and settled in Switzerland.