Vladimir Georgiyevich Bekhterev was born on April 15, 1878 in Moscow. Before becoming one of the best Russian artists of the 20th century, the aristocrat, nobleman, and officer, he graduated from St. Petersburg cavalry school and served in the Mitavsky regiment for a few years. In 1901 he retired in the lieutenant rank and moved to Munich, where he took drawing and painting classes from Heinrich Knirr, and then studied under Fernand Cormon in Paris.
He was the cofounder in 1909 of the New Munich Art Association together with Wassily Kandinsky, Alexej von Jawlensky, and Marianne von Werefkin. He was close to the Blue Rider magazine circle and participated in the first exhibition of the Bubnovy Valet (i.e. Jack of Diamonds) association, and the exhibition of the New Association of Artists. In 1920 — 1921 he was the artist of the First State Circus in Moscow.
He was also actively engaged in book illustration: from 1936 to 1945 he created a series of illustrations to works by Mikhail Lermontov and a number of books by foreign classics of the 19th century for the Academia publishing house.
Vladimir Bekhterev was laid down to rest at the Donskoye Cemetery in Moscow.