Dmitry Kardovsky was born in the Village of Osurovo (nowadays part of the Pereslavl District of the Yaroslavl Region) on August 24 (September 5), 1866.
 

He got secondary education in the Vladimir classical school (1886), then entered the Law Faculty of the Moscow University (1886 — 1891), and attended Fine Arts Classes by the architect A. Gunst. In 1892 — 1896 Dmitry Kardovsky was trained in Academy of Arts under Ilya Repin. In 1896 — 1900 the artist lived and studied abroad, at the well-known school of A. Azhbe in Munich, one of the best centers for painting education at that time. In 1901 he was again trained by Ilya Repin in the Academy of Arts. He got the title of an artist in 1902.
 

From 1903 he taught at the Academy of Arts, where he was an assistant in Ilya Repin’s studio. Dmitry Kardovsky was one of the founders of the New Artists Association, which existed till 1917. From 1907 he was a professor at the Academy of Arts, where he had his own studio. The artist was a full member of the Academy of Arts from 1911.
 

In 1919 Dmitry Kardovsky lived in Pereslavl-Zalessky and was a member of the Pereslavl-Zalessky scientific and educational association. In 1920 he moved to Moscow, where he taught in the VKHUTEMAS (Higher Art and Technical Studios) till 1930. He became an Honored Artist of the RSFSR in 1929. In 1933 — 1934 I taught in the All-Russian Academy of Arts in Leningrad. 
 

The year 1929 saw the Art Exhibition of Moscow and Leningrad Artists Dedicated to the 25th Anniversary of Painting and Teaching Activities of Prof. Dmitry Kardovsky.