Vajiha Samadova

Vajiha Samadova (; 24 November 1924 – 24 October 1965) ) was Azerbaijan's first professional female painter and was named a Distinguished Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR in 1964. Shortly after she died a gallery hall in the Azerbaijan Artists Union was named after her. Four of Samedova's artworks are in the collection of the Azerbaijan State Art Gallery.

Life Samadova was born in 1924 to confectioner Karbalayi Ali, an Azerbaijani from Kars and his Rubaba Samadova, from an Azerbaijani family from Qom, Iran.

As a child Samadova lived in Icherisheher. From 1939 to 1944 she studied at the Azim Azimzadeh Azerbaijan State School of Painting, where she met her future husband, Latif Fayzullayev. Afterward she studied at Institute of Painting in Moscow. On November 1, 1945, she and her husband had their first child, Nijat. After a one-year break, Vajiha Samadova resumed her education and completed her studies in 1949, returning to Baku.

In 1962 she was given a separate studio. Soon after she fell seriously ill.

In 1953 she painted a portrait of actress Leyla Badirbeyli, exhibited in the National Art Museum of Azerbaijan. Her portrait works include "Self-portrait," "Portrait of Actress Leyla Badirbeyli," "Portrait of Sureyya Karimova," "Portrait of Sohbat Ibrahimova," "Young Violinist," and "Portrait of Geologist Minure Mammadbayli".

In February 2020, an exhibition of 40 works of the couple was held at the "Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Baku" exhibition hall with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan.

Memory The exhibition hall of the Union of Artists of Azerbaijan, located in the center of Baku, has been named after Vajiha Samadova, the Honored Artist of Azerbaijan, since 1965. Her son, film director Nijat Feyzullayev, produced a documentary film commissioned by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism that portrays his mother's life and artistic contributions. The premiere of the film titled "The Queen of Azerbaijani Painting" took place on September 29, 2010, at the International Mugham Center in Baku.

Currently, four artworks by Vajiha Samadova are preserved and stored in the collection of the Azerbaijan State Art Gallery.