The article, based on published and archival materials, for the first time presents a full biography of L. K. Antonova, a talented Irkutsk artist, a graduate of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts. Her creative biography is divided into a number of periods: Irkutsk, Saint Petersburg with interruptions, Kharkov and Crimea. The artist worked in watercolour, painted portraits and still lifes in various techniques. Both spouses, with whom fate bound her, were outstanding personalities (revolutionary V. V. Leonovich and architect V. I. Kovalsky). The artist had a son (architect B. V. Antonov).