Serge Ferat (Sergey Nikolaevich Yastrebtsov) 1879 - 1958. received a law degree, then continued his studies at the Kiev Art College. 

Around 1905 he settled in Paris with his cousin Baroness Hélène d’Oettingen

who ran a famous literary and art salon. He attended Bouguereau's classes at the Académie Julian.

In 1906 under the pseudonym Rudnev he exhibited in the Salon des Independents. Important for his work was a meeting with the poet Guillaume Apollinaire in 1907, and it was Apollinaire who suggested that Yastrebtsov take the French pseudonym of Serge Ferat. At this time, the artist begin to work in a cubist manner under the influence of Picasso, Braque and Gris.

In 1910 Ferat began work on his still lives, combining the techniques of cubism with the warm colours of Russian folklore.

In 1913  Ferat and his cousin Baroness Hélène d’Oettingen started to publish the magazine “Les Soirees de Paris”. Apollinaire took over the literary part of this prestigious magazine on art and literature, and Ferat was the designer under the pseudonym Jean Cérusse.

The studio of Ferat was at the editorial office of the magazine and soon became the meeting point for writers, art critics and avant-garde artists, including Maurice Reinal, Blaise Sendrars, André Salmon, Max Jacob, Fernand Leger, Glez, Chagall, Picasso, Modigliani, Sonia Delaney, Leopold Survage and Iren Lagu, etc.

The magazine “Les Soirees de Paris” played a decisive role in the spread of Cubism in Europe, and was published up to the outbreak of the First World War. In 1914, Serge Ferat under the pseudonym Eduard Ferat, took part in the Salon des Independents, exhibiting his work ‘Lacerba’.

Apollinaire wrote in 1914: “As for Eduard Ferat... his debut did not go unnoticed, the colourful canvases promising the appearance of grandiose works in the future.”

Ferat was engaged in book graphics and scenography, and was a member of the group “Golden Section” participating in their exhibitions.

He also collaborated in the Russian magazine “Udar” (Strike). In 1949 he took part in the design of the anthology of “Poetry of Unrecognised” organised by I.M. Zdanevich based on poems by V.Khlebnikov, A. Kruchenykh, T. Tzara, P. Eluard, and others. In 1953 his works were exhibited at the Great Cubist Exhibition in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Paris.

Serge Ferat died in 1958, bequeathing his collection to Habe Russo, his companion, with whom he lived with for more than 20 years.

The works of Serge Ferat are in the collections of the Georges Pompidou Center, Musée d'Art Moderne in Paris, and in many other major museums in the world.

Serge Férat's work has been offered at auction multiple times, with realized prices ranging from 78 USD to 560,578 USD, depending on the size and medium of the artwork. Since 2003 the record price for this artist at auction is 560,578 USD for LACERBA, sold at Artcurial in 2007.