Pyotr Williams was a Soviet painter, graphic artist, and theatre designer. He was born in Moscow, into the family of an American technologist who had taken Russian citizenship. From childhood, he studied at the art studio of Wassily Meshkov. He later attended VKhUTEMAS, where his teachers included prominent artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, Ilya Mashkov, and David Shterenberg. In the 1920s, he was involved in several artistic associations, including the Society of Easel Painters (OST). In the late 1920s, he began working in the theatre. He designed productions for the Moscow Art Theatre and other Moscow stages. From 1937, he collaborated with the Bolshoi Theatre, and in 1941 he was appointed its chief designer. He created scenery and costumes for numerous operas and ballets, including “Virgin Soil Upturned”, “Ivan Susanin”, “Eugene Onegin”, as well as Prokofiev’s ballets “Cinderella” and “Romeo and Juliet”. He was awarded the USSR State Prize three times. In 1944, he received the title of Honoured Art Worker of the RSFSR. He also taught at the Moscow Institute of Applied and Decorative Arts, where he became a professor. The Bakhrushin Theatre Museum collection holds scenery sketches and costume designs created by Pyotr Williams.