Museum of Fine Arts named after A.S. Pushkin

The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts is one of the most famous Russian museums.

The first stone of the Museum was laid on August 17, 1898. The project of the building was selected on a competitive basis. The winner was the project of architect R.I. Klein. It was assumed that the museum should resemble an ancient temple, so the main building of the museum is raised on the podium and decorated with an Ionic colonnade on the facade. The interior of the museum emphasizes the exhibits.

Initially, the Museum was created as an educational and auxiliary and was administered by Moscow University.

The grand opening took place on May 31, 1912 in the presence of Emperor Nicholas II. The museum already had collections of original works of painting, graphics and sculpture.

In 1923, it was decided to establish the Museum of Old Western Painting on the basis of the museum. In the same year, the museum was removed from the subordination of the university, and it became a state museum.

During the Great Patriotic War, most funds were evacuated to Novosibirsk and Solikamsk. Since 1944, restoration work began to repair the building, which was significantly damaged during the war.

Currently, the museum is the main cultural platform of Moscow, which regularly hosts exhibitions of world importance. The museum is a mandatory point of each excursion program. The museum combines four types of expositions: a sculptural and architectural exposition of casts, a section of art and culture of ancient civilizations, an art gallery of the VIII-XX centuries and an exposition of the Department of Personal Collections.