Maria Poltorak
was born in 1969 in Leningrad.Her father Ivan Steblin-Kamesky is a professor of Eastern Philology;
her mother, Olga Steblin-Kamensky is an artist and an iconpainter.

Maria attended a high school affiliated with Moukhine School of Art (school #190).
She begun painting icons in 1989 under the guidance of her mother.

In 1991 she took a course in Icon Painting taught by Golubev, S. at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, combining her studies with practical experience (iconostas in Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul in Shuvalov Park, various other icons in cathedrals of St. Petersburg).

In 2001 after 3 years of study Maria graduated from the School of Icon Painting at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy.
In 2001 she became a member of the prestigious Union of Artists of Russia.

Maria Poltorak is the artist behind numerous works in churches and in private posession throughout Russia and abroad.