Until March 2017, the museum was called the Kiev Museum of Russian Art. The Gallery of Russian Art was founded in 1922 on the basis of nationalized private collections, the basis was the collection of the Tereshchenko family (a Cossack-philistine and noble (since 1870) family originating from Glukhovshchina). In 1934, the gallery received the status of a museum. The museum has departments of ancient Russian, 18-19 centuries and Soviet art, which present painting, sculpture, graphics, and crafts. More than 12,000 exhibits are collected in 30 halls.
Among the oldest works of art is the icon of the pre-Mongol period “Boris and Gleb”, a monument created in Novgorod at the end of the 12th – first half of the 13th century. Works of Russian art of the pre-Soviet era are represented by paintings by D. Levitsky, V. Tropinin, V. Serov, V. Perov, V. Makovsky, V. Vasnetsov, I. Repin, M. Antokolsky, V. Vereshchagin, M. Vrubel, N. Ge , I. Shishkina, A. I. Kuindzhi.
Soviet art is represented by the works of artists B. Ioganson, S. Gerasimov, B. Ryauzov, S. Chuikov, D. Bayramov, sculptors I. Shadra, S. Koltsov.
The Great Patriotic War caused great damage to the museum’s collection. The main part of it was evacuated in 1941 to Ufa, where the necessary conditions for storage were created in the local museum. The remaining part suffered a sad fate. Many works were taken outside Ukraine by the occupiers. In total, the museum lost about 1,500 works, including works by I. Aivazovsky, K. Flavitsky, L. Solomatkin, A. Savrasov, A. Bogolyubov, I. Shishkin, I. Levitan, A. Kuindzhi, V. Polenov, I. Ostroukhov, N. Ge, I. Kramskoy, N. Kuznetsov, N. Kasatkin, M. Vrubel, A. Lentulov, K. Petrov-Vodkin, A. Rylov, as well as a large number of works of ancient Russian art, including unique icons.
The restoration of the collection in the post-war years was facilitated by the state policy of acquiring works for the museum through special purchasing commissions. The largest museums in Moscow and Leningrad provided significant assistance, donating a number of first-class works to replenish the exhibitions. The museum was also enriched by donations, for example, the receipt in 1986, according to the will of the Kyiv doctor D. Sigalov, of about 300 paintings and graphic works by Russian artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Until 1880, the museum premises were an estate, a one-story house. In 1882, according to the design of V. Shreter, the architect V. Nikolaev (Ascension Church on Baikov cemetery, Liberman mansion, National Philharmonic, monument to Bogdan Khmelnitsky, Zaitsev’s mansion, Galperin’s mansion) added a second floor and extended the estate deeper. The interior decoration was done by the architect F. Meltzer.
Where is the national museum “Kiev Art Gallery” located?
Tereshchenkovskaya street, 9
044 234 62 18
Mon and Thu – days off, other days – from 10:00 to 17:45 (ticket office until 17:00), first Wednesday of the month – free entry for everyone until 14:00, last Wednesday of the month – sanitary day