After weeks of wrangling, an exhibition of 19th- and early 20th-century paintings from Russian museums has finally opened in London. Twenty-four paintings from the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, as well as other works from the Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian
The general public will have to wait until January 26 to see the paintings. VIPs have been invited to attend before that, including artists, diplomats and sponsors. The exhibition went ahead only after Moscow received legal guarantees that all the paintings would be safely returned to Russia. “In this case we understand that we have a full guarantee from the British side. And I hope that this exhibition will be pure happiness both for the British audience and for the Russian museums,” Mikhail Shvydkoy, Head of Russia’s Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography, said.