He attended a classical grammar school and was originally planning for a career in medicine, but soon found himself attracted to art. In pursuit of that, he moved to saint Petersburg and began auditing classes at the Imperial Academy of Arts. One of his portraits was awarded a small silver medal in 1861.[1]
He was a regular participant in the Academy's exhibitions and was named an "Artist" in 1864. Later he became a "First-Class Artist" (1869). He was named an "Academician" in 1874 for his portrait of War Minister, Dmitry Milyutin.[1] By 1884, he was a "Free Artist" and honorary member of the Academy.
He was one of the founding members of the Society of Russian Watercolorists [ru]. Among his best-known works are a series of portrait albums: thirty of Central Asian dignitaries who came to Moscow for the coronation of Alexander III (1884); forty-five of the Knights of various military orders (1886); and members of an embassy from 'Abd al-Ahad Khan, the Emir of Bukhara (1889).[1]
Voltsenburg, Oskar E.[in Russian]; et al., eds. (1970). "Александровский, Степан Фёдорович". Художники народов СССР (in Russian). Vol. 1. Moscow: Iskusstvo. p. 95.
