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There are few works on display at the exhibition - 48 paintings, but all of them belong to the most significant painters for Russian art of the 20th century. Konstantin Korovin, Boris Grigoriev, David Burliuk, Mikhail Larionov, Natalya Goncharova, Boris Anisfeld, Nikolai Feshin, Robert Falk, Sergey Sudeikin - the largest museums and the richest collectors hunt for the paintings of these masters, they are considered an honor to represent leading galleries and cultural centers . Many paintings exhibited in the halls of the Mikhailovsky Castle have never been seen in Russia - for example, "Portrait of a Woman" by Archipenko, some works by Korovin, Grigoriev, Falk.

Maya and Anatoly Bekkerman moved overseas from Moscow almost 40 years ago. And for more than 30 years, the couple have owned the ABA Gallery in New York, which has a reputation as one of the most authoritative in the field of Russian art of the last century. Then, in the late 70s, there were practically no galleries specializing in Russian art in the United States, there was no fashion for Russian painting, interest in Russian culture on the other side of the ocean did not extend beyond icons and Faberge, at best, the works of Soviet artists. underground.

The Beckermans introduced the Americans to the full spectrum of the Russian artistic process of the 20th century. Collectors literally opened many painters to the world - for example, Boris Anisfeld. They also introduced art lovers to another, little-known David Burliuk - "the best artist among poets."

Anatoly Bekkerman's father, Igor Bekkerman, is a sculptor, and his younger brother Eduard is an artist. The future collector grew up surrounded by works of art and people who not only created it, but also knew its nature, understood the essence of creativity, understood styles and trends. Anatoly himself did not draw, but from childhood he learned to understand art, to distinguish the brush of a real master from the hand of an artisan. He bought his first painting for the future collection in the 10th grade: he saw a small work by Korovin in a thrift store and asked his father for money to buy it. Already in the States, having moved there with his wife and daughter, he began to collect paintings by American painters, gradually switching to Russian painting of the 20th century: many artists moved to America in the 1920s and 1930s, and their work of the post-Russian period was completely unknown in their homeland. Very soon Anatoly Bekkerman became one of the most respected experts in this field, the owner of an outstanding collection. Mikhail Baryshnikov, Vladimir Spivakov, and many other beginners and experienced collectors turned to him for advice and assistance in forming their own collections.

Anatoly and Maya Bekkerman have long-standing close ties with the Russian Museum: they provided paintings from their collection for such large-scale exhibitions as Russian Futurism and David Burliuk, Russian Paris, Time to Collect, American Artists from the Russian Empire. Now the exhibition has arrived in St. Petersburg from the Pushkin Museum in Moscow.

Here is such a Boris Grigoriev, which is not in the Russian Museum. Burliuk's works of this period are also not in our collection, - Yevgenia Petrova, deputy director of the Russian Museum, told OK-inform before the opening. - Private collections in many ways complement state museums, because for many decades many artists, especially those who emigrated from Russia, were literally forgotten in our country, the state did not buy their works. And private collectors are free people, they buy what they want, so their collections are very important for the completeness of the idea of ​​the work of artists. Especially if these are collectors like Maya and Anatoly Bekkerman - they are well versed in art, very meticulously collect documents and evidence of authenticity, and repeatedly check their work.

Some paintings from the collection of the Bekkerman family were acquired by the Russian Museum, now the museum hopes that the Ministry of Culture will find funds to purchase two more works - a landscape by Annenkov and a painting by Anisfeld.

We do not plan to sell any of these works, unless the Russian Museum asks for something: we have a special relationship with the Russian Museum, - Anatoly Bekkerman told an OK-inform correspondent. - We try to set special prices for museums, including for the Russian Museum, although it is not very profitable from a commercial point of view, but we believe that this is how it should be. And whenever possible, we try to return the works of Russian artists to their homeland.

Once upon a time, Anatoly and Maya bought a triptych by Vereshchagin from the family of an old Russian officer: it was considered lost for many decades, but it turned out that people kept the paintings, despite hardships and hardships - they carried them with them through countries and continents. These were the first things that collectors returned to Russia, they were acquired by the Stolichny bank, which then formed its collection.

The Beckerman family has a special relationship with the work of Konstantin Korovin. Once in Miami, a lady met Anatoly and said that her grandfather once had a clothing store and one day, in the 20-30s, some crazy Russian singer with a strange surname Sharapkin came to them, who offered to exchange for wardrobe four paintings by Korovin. “I immediately realized that it was Chaliapin and that Korovin's paintings were genuine,” says the collector. “And I bought all four of her works.”

The favorite painting of his wife Maya "On the terrace" is also by Korovin. By the way, she never leaves the walls of the house, does not participate in exhibitions.

This picture acts as a sedative for me, - says Mrs. Beckerman. - I look at it and smell the grass, greenery, the sun - it reminds me of my childhood, the time when we rented a dacha.

As Anatoly Bekkerman said, now in America Russian painting is in great demand, interest in Russian culture is high. “Americans are inquisitive people, they are interested in other cultures,” Mr. Beckerman says. - We had an exhibition “Russia” at the Guggenheim Museum, we made exhibitions of Burliuk, Anisfeld, a large exhibition from the collection of Mikhail Baryshnikov, recently we organized an exposition “From Borovikovsky to Kabakov” with Mikhail Shvydkoy. All of them have been a huge success."

Next year, the Russian Museum, with the participation of the Bekkerman family, plans to hold a large-scale exhibition of works by David Burliuk, including in St. Petersburg.

Photo by Natalia Shkurenok

Very positive. There is a serious struggle for the best examples of Russian art. There are few top items on the market. After all, Russian museums over the past hundred years have accumulated huge collections in their funds, and, unlike Western ones, they never sell works from their collections. Secondly, in the 20th century, a lot was destroyed, lost. And in the nature of the Russian collector lies the desire to collect only the best.
The investment potential of Russian art, unlike European and American art, has not yet reached its ceiling. Prices for Europeans and Americans are consistently high, they do not have the same growth dynamics as Russian authors. There is no effect of uniqueness, rarity.

For example, Konstantin Korovin was a leading Russian impressionist from 1900 to 1927-1928. If you take an equivalent figure in the history of American national art, such as Childe Hassam, George Bellows or John Sargent, their best works are worth $ 30-50-60 million. The highest price for a painting by Konstantin Korovin is $ 3 million.

The history of collecting Russian art in the 20th century is very young: it actually began in the early 1990s. In the West, wealthy patrons, patrons of opera and ballet, collected sketches by Bakst, Anisfeld, Chelishchev, Benois, Exter. That is theater artists. Therefore, Russian things, even in the late 1980s and early 1990s, were not very expensive. And those who understood this and bought the best samples received gigantic interest on their investments. For example, Konstantin Korovin was sold for $25-30,000 in the early 1990s.

That is, the market for Russian art was created by collectors from the former USSR after the fall of the Iron Curtain?

Yes, they started buying Russian art, and the world saw that there was an unfilled space with enormous potential. There is such an expression "the potential of developing countries" emerging markets, these include China, Brazil, India and, of course, Russia. The prices for the art of these countries are currently underestimated.

And at some point Korovin as Sargens will be worth $30 million?

Over time, yes.

Look, fantastically happy Korovin, "Gurzuf" 1912. This painting was donated to Stockholm University in the 1940s. And when the university decided to sell it, we bought it with great joy. The potential of the picture is colossal. Here is the village landscape of Korovin, 1919.

And this is a very beautiful French period - Paris at night. I know a man in Paris, he is already very old, his father was friends with Korovin. And he remembers: as soon as it started to rain, Korovin got into a taxi and drove around the city, sketching how the wet pavement glared, how the light was reflected.

Are these your Parisian finds?

No, I bought this work in America. Although I go to Paris often. The gallery is 35 years old, we have our own network of dealers who are looking for the best things for us. In addition, now a lot of interesting things can be found online. The main thing is that it should really be Korovin, and not Tyutkin.

Korovin is famous for his fakes, isn't he? He signed the works of his son Alexei with his name, finished writing for Alexei.

Nothing like this. A good expert immediately sees where the hand of his father, Konstantin Korovin, his son did not possess such a smear. The right painting with the right expert is a great investment. In such cases, I give the example of a pharmacy. With a cold, people run to the pharmacy and buy beautiful boxes there.

But before you go for medicines, it would be nice to go to the doctor for a consultation. Self-medication is life-threatening. The same is true in art. People sometimes come to me who have compiled collections on ebay, who bought Korovin, Goncharova, Larionov, Grigoriev, Exter there for $3-5,000. These people understand that a painting by such an artist should cost at least $1 million, but they hope to make a discovery. There are collectors who have spent millions of dollars on collections that cost nothing at all.

Now we are planning the exhibition "French Korovin" with the Russian Museum. We want to hang, for example, Pissarro next to our artist, so that the world can see that Korovin is no worse than the French, but costs 25 times less.

Why does it make sense to look for Russian art of the early 20th century in America?

At the beginning of the 20th century, exhibition life in Russia was very active, exhibitions toured Europe and America a lot. In 1905, for example, a huge Aivazovsky exhibition was held in St. Louis. In 1924 there was a large exhibition of Russian art in New York at the Grand Central Art Galleries. The work settled in America. They pop up from time to time.

Lev Bakst sent his works to the exhibition in 1924. The artist himself came with a big exhibition in 1922-1923. Do you have a theatrical sketch of Bakst at your exhibition - is this also an American trace?

Yes, this is from the American archives of Bakst. In 1982, this work was bought at Sotheby's. A smaller version is in the collection of the British Victoria and Albert Museum. I saw this Bakst on the wall of the Russian Tea Room restaurant in New York. When the owners of the restaurant grew old, the collection and all interior items were sold at auction right in the Tea Room. I knew the owner and bought her work.

Something we find in Europe. And for David Burliuk you have to go to Japan. For example, here is this Japanese still life from 1921. We have a black and white photo of an exhibition in a gallery in Japan where the public is viewing this work.

Absolutely not! There are no fewer people who want to buy Shishkin or Aivazovsky.

Everything has the right to exist. I have works from the 18th century, and portraits from the 19th century, and paintings from the early 20th century, and the 1960s. The main thing is that I like it, it meets my expectations. Here is Rabin of the Lianozovo period, two “Playing Tables” by Nemukhin, here are the works of my brother Edward Bekkerman, here are the early works of Tselkov.

No drop in prices for good things. As a gallery owner, I judge by the requests we receive.

The appearance of recession creates a fantastic climate for investment, purchases for those who understand art. It is best to invest against the mood of the crowd, that's when it gives the best results. We specifically measure price records for several years. Look, investments in art are more profitable than oil and diamonds: Yuri Annenkov in 2001 - $2,274, in 2008 - $121,000, a record - $4,500,000; Alexander Yakovlev in 2004 - $ 249,555, in 2008 - $ 1,067,739, a record - $ 5,300,000; Konstantin Makovsky in 1994 - $74,000, in 2007 - $4,167,178.

Americans collect Russian art?

Of course, they are very receptive to any different national schools. Therefore, in America, for example, the world's best collection of Chinese porcelain or African sculpture, or Indian bronze is stored. They are not fixated only on American art. In recent years, American, German, Italian collectors have appreciated the investment attractiveness of Russian art.

They have their own analysts who track trends. We have now started selling works to Japan and China. A small number of masterpieces, top items stimulates competition, collectors struggle.

The optimal period for art as an investment is 7-10 years. Banks and foundations periodically approach me with a proposal to create a fund of Russian art. But they demand exclusivity so that I only consult on their project. It doesn’t suit me, freedom is the most precious thing.”

April 23 at the Pushkin Museum im. A. S. Pushkin opened the exhibition “Art as a profession. Collection of Maya and Anatoly Bekkerman” is a large-scale exposition from a private American collection shown in the largest museum in Moscow. About a hundred works by Burliuk, Falk, Altman, Korovin, Anisfeld, Grigoriev and other artists were brought from the New York ABA Gallery, founded by Bekkerman about 30 years ago. Some of these pieces have taken part in exhibitions in Russia, but for the first time the Bekkerman collection is exhibited here as an independent project. On the eve of the vernissage, a Lechaim magazine correspondent visited the ABA Gallery and learned the details of the creation of the collection first-hand.

Irina Kordonskaya I noticed Tyshler's sculptures in your house - I didn't even know about their existence. Will they be at the exhibition in Moscow?

Anatoly Bekkerman No. But there are a lot of Tyshler in our gallery, and we did a big exhibition of him a few years ago.

IR Recently at the Pushkin Museum im. A. S. Pushkin, an exhibition from the collection of Mikhail Baryshnikov was held in the Department of Private Collections. Do I understand correctly that it was organized by you?

AB With my participation: first it was held in New York, in my gallery.

IR In Moscow, she was a huge success. In general, in Russian museums, as far as I know, there are a lot of things that you got.

AB And we show some of them at the current exhibition: in the 21st hall there are works that have passed through my gallery. Several things were given by the Russian Museum - among other things, a portrait of Burliuk by Feshin, something - the Moscow Museum of Modern Art. Collectors from Russia provided items that were once bought from me.

For example, "Summer Evening" by Borisov-Musatov. The history of this work is curious: once an art dealer calls me and offers a painting by Borisov-Musatov, a large one. I don’t mind, but this is a rarity - when did you see the meter Borisov-Musatov? I recently had a watercolor, it went for a million and a half, but oil, and even of such a size ... I called a friend in Moscow, I told him - he starts laughing. But they send me a photograph of this painting and a catalog of the 1904 exhibition in St. Louis, where there were four works by Borisov-Musatov, and this is one of them. Some family bought, hung on the wall. And I bought from them.

IR Do you deal only with the Russian avant-garde?

AB Of course not. Different people come to me, who sometimes amaze me, but also make me happy - someone wants Repin, someone wants Goncharova, someone wants Bulatov and Kabakov ... Here's a story about the big Aivazovsky - it was in 1995. I get an antique newspaper, I see a black-and-white photograph, on it - the sea, a man on the shore. Signed by the American artist Hansen - was such, specialized in the marine theme. I tell my friend: what Hansen, this is Aivazovsky. I arrive: a canvas 2x3 m, signed by Hansen, and under it - Aivazovsky. People did not know such a name, they wanted to sell it, they stuck the signature of an American artist on top. Estimeyt was 5-7 thousand dollars. I offered 50 thousand. The owner says: "I would love to, Hansen is not worth it, but we must sell by law, through an auction." I was ready to pay 250 thousand, but the auction stopped at seven.

IR When you hear the stories of such finds from a dealer or collector, you can easily believe them. But reading the same thing in the annotations to the lot at the auction, you begin to doubt.

AB And yet… Look, here we have a still life by Robert Falk, 1914, known from the Jack of Diamonds exhibition. In the book of Dmitry Sarabyanov, dedicated to Falk, it is said about this work: "location unknown." And I found it at an American auction - it is known that a certain state structure acquired the painting from Angelina Shchekin-Krotova, Falk's widow, and someone took it to the USA. Or the work of Bakst: in New York, next to Carnegie Hall, around the corner, there was once a “Russian Tea-room”, where all the celebrities went - dancers, singers, White Guard generals. The owners had Russian roots. And this is how it happens: the institution has long been gone, and Bakst, who hung there, is in my gallery.

IR You specialize in Russian art - is there a lot of it in the States, in general in the West?

AB Russian weeks at auctions are held twice a year. There are super things, but by definition there cannot be many of them, each artist has no more than 5-7% of masterpieces.

IR But treasures come across less often than 20 years ago?

AB No, they just hunt them more actively. People from Russia live all over the world and they want to create their own collections. This is one of the reasons why I consider this market promising. And not only collectors with Russian roots buy. Americans have a wonderful quality: they are willing to listen and learn. Some of them are just investing money because it is a virgin market - a growing market like China or Brazil, but some are getting a taste of it.

IR You said - a growing market. Our artists rise in price?

AB Russian painting, despite the records that we have seen since the early 1990s, is far from real prices. Look at American artists: a painting by Norman Rockwell was recently sold for 46 million, Edward Hopper - for 40 million. Russian art could not dream of these prices, if you do not take Kandinsky, Malevich and Chagall. The most expensive Korovin at the auction was sold for $3 million. And Korovin, together with Serov - the main Russian impressionists, American artists of the same level and period are 10 times more expensive. So it's not over yet - there is room to grow.

IR Selling things to private collections, you earn. But selling to Russian museums...

AB Of course, these sales often come with financial losses, because the same Russian Museum would never be able to pay the market value of the painting. But I just want to return some iconic things to Russia. It is important to me that these works hang here and be publicly available. Tsereteli bought Larionov, Exter, Goncharova, Burliuk for the Moscow Museum of Modern Art, and these things are indeed on permanent display, they are given to exhibitions. Here, by the way, we show Burliuk's striking work - "Japanese woman sowing rice" - one of the main futuristic masterpieces, at the level of the works of the famous Italian futurist Balla. But his paintings are worth millions. And this picture of Burliuk, by the way, belonged to Mayakovsky.

IR In your collection, I noticed a very unusual Falk - a bouquet that is inexplicably bright for his palette as we know it.

AB In reality, nothing unusual, it's just 1927 - we know more about Falk from another time. You understand, this business is interesting for me precisely because of the possibility of finds. In the fifth grade, I dreamed of becoming an archaeologist, and, apparently, the passion for finding rarities, for blowing dust off rarities, remained. I have just bought several paintings by Shterenberg and Labas at an auction. Shterenberg, with the exception of fakes that end up at auctions, is a very rare artist, there are few of his works. And here a whole collection was for sale: it turned out that a certain Italian journalist worked in Russia at one time and bought paintings. And took away - now the heirs are selling. And the exhibition at the Pushkin Museum Shterenberg is - bought in New York, in a private collection. The painting was purchased in the 1920s directly from the artist in Paris.

IR Your exhibition evokes involuntary associations with a recent exhibition from the collection of Vyacheslav Kantor, who, as you know, collects only Jewish artists. You have a lot of them too.

AB Vyacheslav Kantor has an excellent collection. But I did not set myself the task of collecting Jewish artists. It's just that there are really many Jews among the masters of the Russian avant-garde. And many of them ended up abroad. The same Boris Anisfeld settled in New York in 1918, and his exhibition was held at the Brooklyn Museum - about 200 works created in Russia. Alexandra Exter died in Europe. I wanted to buy her work and I knew that she was very friendly with the artist Simon Lissim, who emigrated to the United States - provenance from him is considered a guarantee of a genuine Exter. I found Lissim's nephew. Or Boris Grigoriev - I bought a lot of him in Latin America, because he lived there and taught. They repeatedly tried to buy his “Man with a Bull” from me, they offered money that was several times higher than the market price. I thought. And the wife says: no way. If any of us is a collector, then rather it is. Someone once said that an art dealer lives on what he sells, and grows rich on what he leaves. This is true.

The well-known New York gallery "ABA" presents two exhibitions in the "New Manege": "Russian Art: Finds and Discoveries" and "Mikhail Baryshnikov, from the Dance cycle". In 2014, the founders of the Maya Gallery and Anatoly Bekkerman presented at the Pushkin Museum. A.S. Pushkin's things from his personal collection, and last year the Moscow public could get acquainted with rare works - from Borovikovsky to Kabakov. On the eve of this opening day, Kultura met with Anatoly Bekkerman and talked about finding masterpieces, exposing fakes using blockchain, and cultural exchange between Russia and the United States.

culture: What finds will the audience see this time?
Beckerman: For example, a landscape by Alexei Savrasov, painted in 1852. The work of the early period - in Russian museums there are literally a few such things. In addition, the picture has an interesting history. It belonged to the family of a Swedish entrepreneur who came to the Russian Empire in 1856 and founded the first electric textile processing factory in Moscow. He made it one of the largest in Europe, received the title of baron from Alexander II for his merits. In 1917, his descendants left Russia, taking with them the collection, including Savrasov's work.

We show two works by David Burliuk related to the Japanese period. Also a rarity: the artist spent almost two years in the Land of the Rising Sun. There is an interesting thing by Konstantin Korovin - an image of Gurzuf dated 1912. In 1940, the painting was donated to the University of Stockholm, which after some time decided to sell it. They also brought a landscape by Abram Arkhipov and a portrait painted by Nikolai Feshin, a favorite not only of the Russian but also of the American public. In the States, he lived a significant period of his life.

culture: You also show photographs taken by Mikhail Baryshnikov. In 2008, his photographs were already shown at Winzavod. What will surprise the current exhibition?
Beckerman: This will be the premiere, as far as I know, we will repeat only one frame. Mikhail Nikolayevich is not only a legendary artist and an outstanding dancer. His perspective as a photographer is interesting. The shooting method is based on long exposure: blurry, moving figures best convey the feeling, energy, rhythm of the dance. In addition, we will introduce the public to 24 photographs of Ilsa Bing from his collection. The works of the Frankfurt native are in all the museums of the world, but they have never been shown in Russia. She was friends with Mikhail Baryshnikov and gave him these works.

culture: How do you find masterpieces? It is believed that first-class things have long settled in museums and private collections.
Beckerman: Indeed, there is little worth, but discoveries are still possible. At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, major exhibitions were held in America - in particular, Aivazovsky, many works remained in the New World. We have a whole staff of people engaged in searches. There are phenomenal paintings in Latin America, where emigrants from Russia lived. The same Boris Grigoriev regularly visited Chile for several years. However, do not think that we discover a masterpiece every day, sometimes it takes years to search. Even when you know where the painting is, you spend a lot of time persuading the owner to “release” it into the world.

culture: You not only form your own collection and gallery collection, but also act as an expert. What do you do if you see an unknown thing of a famous master, which, moreover, differs in style and manner? At your last exhibition, a number of works by Natalia Goncharova raised questions from critics precisely because of their atypicality.
Beckerman: I have been working with this artist for many years. I approach the selection of paintings with great responsibility. Some periods are not well known to Russian specialists, especially when it comes to works created far from the Motherland. For example, Goncharova has non-objective compositions from the Cosmos series, written in the 1950s. Several samples are stored in the Tretyakov Gallery, they are perfectly studied there. And yet, something can escape the attention of experts. We always conduct serious research, find out the provenance: whether the work was exhibited, where, when, whether there are similar things.

culture: At one time, the Russian art market was flooded with fakes. Has the situation changed?
Beckerman: I think these rumors are greatly exaggerated. Paintings by American, Italian, German authors are forged no less often. A few years ago, the Knoedler & Company Gallery, which had existed for 165 years, closed in New York. They were selling fake works of Mark Rothko. Or the scandal with the forger Wolfgang Beltracchi, who successfully copied avant-garde representatives like Max Ernst and Kees van Dongen. He pierced when he was too lazy to make old paint and bought ready-made titanium white, which was not found at the beginning of the 20th century. The level of knowledge and research methods are advancing, so there are fewer fakes.

Still, sometimes collectors come to add to the collections with the help of Ebay. They often spend millions of dollars. They buy online Goncharova for 500 or 1000 dollars and enjoy a good deal, because such things cost a lot of money at dealers or at auctions. You have to disappoint them.

culture: Now many people are talking about blockchain technology, which will help make the art market more transparent...
Beckerman: I welcome all positive changes. However, this method is not omnipotent. Not so long ago we purchased a painting by Goncharova. She was not signed. Kept in the collection of people who ran a paint shop. The artist made purchases from them, donated her works, and sometimes exchanged them for materials. Sometimes works do not appear anywhere at all, they are never exhibited. In such cases, expertise is required.

culture: Is there a growing interest in Russian art?
Beckerman: So far, it is underestimated, but there are dynamics, and, in my opinion, it will grow in price. The time will come when the cost of domestic paintings equals those of the best Western schools. Exhibitions of our artists and now attract the attention of foreign viewers. For example, "Russia!" at the Guggenheim Museum in 2005 broke the attendance record. The American public is very receptive to Russian art. Unfortunately, in recent years nothing has been brought to the States from Russian museums. We are modestly trying to fill this void: we arrange exhibitions in the USA, we bring projects to Russia. I hope that through cultural exchange, relations between countries will gradually improve.

culture: What do you plan to offer domestic viewers?
Beckerman: We want to make an exhibition of Burliuk with the Russian Museum and then show it in Moscow. In the same place we are going to present the French things of Korovin. I have no sponsors: I finance such projects myself. I perceive them as a way to popularize and promote Russian art: I consider this a duty, a kind of mission.

Anatoly Bekkerman, an eminent American collector, art dealer, owner of ABA, the most famous gallery of Russian art in New York, told Profile about the exhibition he brought to Moscow, about whether Russian art that has become fashionable is often faked , and how the cooling of relations between Russia and the United States affects the cultural exchange.

– Exhibition “Russian art: from Borovikovsky to Kabakov. From the collection of the gallery "ABA" was already shown in 2012 in New York. Will visitors see the same exposition in Novy Manezh, or has something changed in your concept during this time? Maybe new interesting paintings have appeared, or, on the contrary, some paintings are not exhibited in Moscow?

– The exhibition that we bring to the New Manege and open on September 22 in Moscow really has the same name as the New York exposition, since the chronological framework in both cases was set by these famous Russian artists. The exhibition will open with a portrait of Dmitry Troshchinsky, Minister of Justice of the early 19th century, and end with drawings by Ilya Kabakov from 1971-1972. About 90% of the exhibits presented at the exhibition have never been brought to Russia before. These are the works of Konstantin Korovin, Nicholas Roerich, Boris Anisfeld, Abram Arkhipov. There is an interesting story behind almost every painting. For example, “Portrait of Maria Khrushcheva” by Russian artist Dmitry Kardovsky, who graduated from the Academy in the class of Repin and improved for several years at the famous Munich school of Anton Ashbe. In many ways, the portrait echoes the works of Kardovsky's comrades in the Ashbe school - Igor Grabar and Wassily Kandinsky. By the way, this work was erroneously attributed to the latter for a long time under the title “Lady with a Cat”. For many years, the painting was in the collection of the Guggenheim Museum in New York, and in September, viewers will be able to see this painting at our exhibition. – Are you the organizer of the exhibition at Novy Manezh yourself or were you invited by your Russian colleagues?

– The organizer of the exhibition is the Department of Culture of the city of Moscow and the MVO "Manege", as well as the gallery "ABA", which I am the owner of. Initially, I discussed the idea of ​​the project with Mikhail Shvydkoy, special representative of the President of the Russian Federation for culture, since the exhibition sets itself educational and educational goals. For several decades we have been promoting Russian culture abroad. At the same time, we received support from Leonid Pechatnikov, Deputy Mayor of Moscow, who helped with the implementation of the project at one of the central exhibition venues in the capital. I would also like to mention Vasily Peganov, a representative of the Board of Directors of BashInvest Group, who got involved in the work on the exhibition, understanding the importance of cultural ties between Russia and America.

– What is the main idea of ​​this exhibition? What unites all the presented paintings? Which of them do you consider the most valuable or the most interesting?

– We wanted Moscow to see the masterpieces of Russian art, which were exhibited in their homeland either for a very long time, or never came to Russia. This happened for various reasons. Some works were taken out during the revolution, others were created by great Russian artists in the West. All the canvases that we show at the New Manege are united by their uniqueness and quality. For example, viewers will see a sketch for the famous work of Vladimir Makovsky "Party", which was shown in 1902 in St. Petersburg at the exhibition "Makovsky V. and Volkov E. The painting "Party" is stored in the State Tretyakov Gallery. Alexandra Exter is represented at the exhibition by the "Triptych", which was known from a small photograph in the book of the famous Russian avant-garde researcher John Boult "Alexandra Exter" and was considered lost for a long time.

We will also present “Landscape” (“Bridge to the felling”) of 1871 by Ivan Shishkin, which was exhibited during the life of the artist and was published in the catalog of Bulgakov F. I. “Album of Russian Painting. Paintings and drawings by Professor I. I. Shishkin "in 1892.

The unique canvas of Nikolai Ulyanov "The Procession" was first and last publicly exhibited in 1924 in the USA at the Grand Central Palace, for which it was specially created. It is worth paying attention to several of the rarest works of the Japanese period by David Burliuk, which were purchased from the artist's relatives.

– You often call yourself not only an art collector, but also an art dealer. Can you tell me which paintings from your famous collection you are not ready to part with for any money? Or do you have no such restrictions?

– We have a clear boundary between the collection of the ABA gallery and a personal, family collection. Works from our collection are not offered for sale.

– There are quite a few works in your collection that were considered lost – you gave them a second life. Do you like the role of "pioneer" or is it a chain of accidents? Or maybe patterns - you just happened to be at the right time in the right place?

– Yes, it is true, in the collection of the ABA gallery there are paintings that were considered lost. I do not know if this can be considered an accident or a natural phenomenon. But I know one thing: in order to see and understand that there is a lost, unknown masterpiece in front of you, you must be ready for this moment. I have spent more than 40 years to accumulate knowledge and learn to understand art, as well as to acquire the skill to see the quality of painting. This is a constant and ongoing process, I learn and discover something new every day.

– You have been living in the USA for many years, doing Russian art and collaborating with the largest museums in Russia. However, at the moment, official relations between our countries, as they say, leave much to be desired. Have you felt this "cooling" in your activities as a private gallery owner?

- Yes, unfortunately, relations between Russia and America are currently quite complicated. For many years there have been no state inter-museum exhibition projects. It seems to me that it is in such a situation that it is very important to maintain, maintain and even develop cultural ties. Therefore, we are working hard to ensure that Russian art is seen and known in America. For example, several years ago we presented in New York works from the collection of Mikhail Baryshnikov, and then paintings by the remarkable nonconformist artist Oleg Tselkov. – When you first started collecting your collection in the 80s, Russian art was not in demand in the United States. Therefore, on the one hand, it was a risky investment, but on the other hand, it made it possible to buy valuable paintings at low prices. Over the years, the demand for Russian artists has grown all over the world. Is it difficult for you now to find and acquire new items for the collection? In the age of the Internet, this can be done through online auctions - perhaps you felt the “offensive” of competitors and non-professionals?

– Of course, the Internet has changed the art market. A huge world of auctions, galleries, exhibitions around the world has opened up before lovers and collectors. But right now, more than ever, the role of an experienced gallery owner, an adviser, an expert in his field, who can give valuable advice on acquiring a particular work and save a novice collector from mistakes and disappointments, is more important than ever. Often, young collectors get burned by buying art on the Internet without sufficient experience and knowledge.

– Are you looking for paintings to replenish your collection in Russia or only in other countries?

– I visit Russia quite rarely and search for new things mainly in the West.

- How relevant is the problem of fakes now - both Russian art and works of artists from other countries? Have you ever bought canvases that were later found to be fakes? How does the situation in America and Russia differ in this respect?

– The problem of fakes is relevant all over the world, and Russian art is no exception. The Knoedler Gallery, which has been in business for over 160 years, recently closed in America. They traded forgeries of artists such as Rothko, Pollock and Willem de Kooning. Not so long ago in Germany there were scandals with the sale of fake works by Max Ernst, André Derain, Georges Braque and other German expressionists. This once again confirms the need for advice and assistance from an experienced expert.

– You often bring exhibitions to Russia. Is it nostalgia? Charity? Or business?

– Despite the fact that we have been living in the USA for more than 40 years, we were born in Russia, and Russian culture is very dear to us. We want viewers on both sides of the globe to understand and appreciate the beauty of Russian art.