At present, Russian iconography is experiencing a revival of interest on the part of serious collectors, art connoisseurs, and art researchers. This form of religious art is obtaining renewed aesthetic value and significance in the global art community. Today, you can see more and more Russian icons in museums and private collections across the world. One good example is the Oleg Kushnirskiy collection that is currently on view at the Icon Museum and Study Center in Clinton, MA.
Growing Visibility of Russian Icons in Museums and Private Collections
The first significant display of the Oleg Kushnirskiy collection took place at the end of 2024, when it was first presented in the USA at the Museum of Russian Art (TMORA) in Minneapolis, MN. The exhibition, titled “Masterpieces of Sacred Art from the Oleg Kushnirskiy Collection,” lasted several months, welcoming every appreciator of religious art to explore its grandeur in person.
2026 opened with another exciting presentation of the Kushnirskiy collection, this time at the Icon Museum and Study Center in Clinton, MA. The exhibition started on February 27 and is available for viewing until August 30. Titled “Icons: The Old Believers and Their World,” it is focused on the art of Old Believers, which is at the core of Oleg Kushnirskiy’s collection. The exhibition is organized with the assistance of Dr. Justin Willson, Associate Professor of Medieval Art at Yale University, and Elliot Mackin, Curator at the Icon Museum and Study Center.
These important events are only the beginning of the Kushnirskiy collection’s visibility in the American and international art stage. A new exhibition in Europe is planned for the coming months, with the final arrangements underway. Oleg and Ilya Kushnirskiy, founders and promoters of the collection, are highly optimistic about the renewed interest in late Russian icon painting, giving all interested viewers and researchers access to the collection via offline displays and distant catalog studies.
About the Oleg Kushnirskiy Collection
The presented collection is a result of Oleg Kushnirskiy’s efforts spanning decades of his life in St. Petersburg before emigrating to the USA. Today, it includes more than 60 rare hand-painted icons dated 17th – early 20th century. The collection’s comprehensive catalog with high-resolution photos of icons, competent historiographic analysis, and expert commentary from leading specialists in Russian religious art is available for purchase on the Russian Icon Collection website. The catalogue comes in English and Russian to improve its accessibility for audiences from different locations.
In the coming years, we anticipate an increasing presence of Russian icons in museums and private collections worldwide.