SUMMARY
The article considered the development of art education in the Yelisavetgrad region (second half of XIX - early XX century) through the prism of biographies of artists, presented in the publication "Artists of Steppe Ukraine", The main center of art education at that time in Yelisavetgrad were Evening drawing and design classes, which were founded by P. Krestonostsev. In the dictionary on a wide source base more than 200 articles about artists and their students were collected and unified, that were once in the steppe region (Yelisavetgrad region at that time was part of the Kherson province, now - the territory of the Kirovograd region with the regional center of Kropyvnytskyi). Accentuated, that artistic life at the time developed in a pan-European context. Many artists, presented in the dictionary, made a significant contribution to the art not only of Ukraine but also of other countries. The article also revealed features of the work on the dictionary: installation of little known names - artists-teachers and their students, clarification of biographies of already known personalities. Research biographies made it possible to outline starting points and ways of future searches for the purpose of historical and pedagogical reconstruction of a condition and dynamics of the cultural and educational process in the region, birth and existence of a local art school and the development of the art process as a whole. Exactly the research will contribute to the generalization of artistic pedagogical experience and popularization of creative use of ideas of outstanding teachers in modern conditions, will play an important role in ensuring the development of research in modern pedagogical science, education and practice