Alexander Ivanovich Savinov was a Russian and Soviet painter and art educator who lived and worked in Saint Petersburg (Leningrad). He was a member of the Leningrad Union of Artists, regarded as one of the founders of the Leningrad School of painting.

Union of Artists of Saint Petersburg was established on August 2, 1932, as a creative union of the Leningrad artists and arts critics. Prior to 1959, it was called "Leningrad Union of Soviet Artists". From 1959, it was called as Leningrad branch of Union of Artists of Russian Federation. After the renaming of the city in 1991, it became known as the Saint Petersburg Union of Artists.