Apolinary Mikhailovich Vasnetsov was born on August 6, 1856, in the village of Rubtsovo. His father, Mikhail Vasilyevich Vasnetsov, was an Orthodox priest from an ancient Vyatka family. At the age of 13, Apolinary became an orphan. After finishing school and a theological seminary, he moved to the capital at the invitation of his older brother Viktor Vasnetsov, a well-known artist. Although he did not receive formal artistic education, he studied in Vyatka with the Polish artist Mikhail Elviro Andriolli and took lessons in St. Petersburg from masters such as Polenov, Repin, and Maximov.

Apolinary Vasnetsov became known for his paintings, including a rare series on ancient Moscow. He also worked as a theatrical artist in Savva Morozov's private opera theater, creating scenery for the operas "The Tale of Tsar Saltan," "Sadko," "The Oprichnik," "The Tsar's Bride," and "Life for the Tsar."

Vasnetsov led the landscape class at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture for a long time, became an academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts in 1900, and joined the Union of Russian Artists in 1903. He traveled extensively throughout Russia and Europe. After the Bolsheviks came to power, he engaged in archaeology and in the last years of his life tried to save the Cathedral of Christ the Savior from destruction through newspapers.

Apolinary Mikhailovich Vasnetsov passed away on January 23, 1933, and was buried in section 20 of the Vvedensky Cemetery. His brother Viktor was later reburied nearby.

In 1965, a memorial apartment-museum of Apolinary Vasnetsov was opened in Moscow at Furmanov Lane, house 6, where he lived for 30 years until his death. A memorial plaque and a sign about the museum were installed on the building. In the hometown of the Vasnetsov brothers, now Kirov, an art museum and a monument to the brothers were opened, and in Kirovo-Chepetsk, there is a street named "Brothers Vasnetsovs."