Maria was born August 4, 1915, in the village Pervozvanovka, Poltava Governorate, Ukraine. She was orphaned in 1922 at the age of seven after her mother, Nadezhda Mironovna, died; her father, Alexei Fedorovich, was killed in battle in 1916.
In 1930, she graduated country school and went to Poltava, where she enrolled in medical school and later the paramedic courses of the Red Cross. After attending school, she worked as a nurse until 1935.[3] She also studied at an art studio from 1930 to 1933.[4]
During the Great Patriotic War, Kleschar-Samokhvalova worked as a medical inspector. She had been living in Leningrad since 1945, and in 1950 she married artist Alexander Samokhvalov. She developed her skills as a painter under his influence, and in 1952 she began working in the studio of Samokhvalov on Tuchkov Lane. She painted portraits, landscapes, and still lifes; she used Samokhvalov as a model for many paintings and sketches.
Among her works: Crymea Yard (1957), Poppies[6] (1958), Verochka[7] (1960), Chersonese and Mother[8] (both 1961), Natasha[9] (1962), Olga Bergholtz in the Blockade Days, Still-life, and Girl with Flower[10] (1963), Still-life[11] (1964), Interior and Кomsomol Member Valya Komrakova[12] (both 1968), Roses[13] and Still-life with Yellow Camomiles (both 1970), Still-life with Quince[14] (1972), About Fortunes[15](1973), Student[16] (1974), Carnations (Selfportrait)[17](1981), and A Memory[18] (1987).
After Samokhvalov's death, Maria took an active part in the preservation his artistic heritage, publishing his literary heritage[19][20] and organizing exhibitions of his work.[21]
Maria Kleschar-Samokhvalova died July 21, 2000, in Saint Petersburg at the age of 85 years. Her works are in museums and private collections of Russia and abroad.
There are well-known portraits of her painted by Alexander Samokhvalov in 1950–1960.[22][23]
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