The Oleg Kushnirskiy Collection at the Icon Museum and Study Center
Interest in Old Believer iconography is on the rise. Old Believer icons represent a distinct icon painting tradition that flourished throughout the Imperial Russia period, with a rich cultural and spiritual legacy preserved for future generations. Though Russian icons used to have little popularity in their own country during the Soviet rule, today they experience a revival as unique cultural artifacts. One of the notable events dedicated to Old Believer iconography is the exhibition of the Oleg Kushnirskiy collection held at the Icon Museum and Study Center in Clinton, MA.
“Icons: Old Believers and Their World” at the Icon Museum and Study Center
Over 60 Russian icons created from the 17th to the early 20th century, from the private collection of Oleg Kushnirskiy, are currently on view at the Icon Museum and Study Center in Clinton, MA, as part of the exhibition titled “Icons: Old Believers and Their World.” It is the second exhibition of the collection, following its presentation in the USA at the Museum of Russian Art in Minneapolis, MN. Visitors to the exhibition can enjoy a powerful, coherent narrative of the Old Believers’ spiritual resilience and social perseverance amid persecution.
“Icons: Old Believers and Their World” is held under the co-curation of Dr. Justin Willson, Assistant Professor of Medieval Art at Yale University, and Elliot Mackin, Curator at the Icon Museum. The exhibition focuses on the uniqueness of the Old Believer icon painting craft, showing how Old Believers’ ideas and religious distinctions from the mainstream Russian Church manifested themselves in iconography. Long regarded as marginal religious art existing in the rural areas and outskirts of Russia, Old Believer iconography is currently emerging as a valuable aesthetic and spiritual tradition with a high global value and acclaim.
The exhibition runs through August 30, 2026.
Photo by Danielle Shabo for the Icon Museum and Study Center
About the Oleg Kushnirskiy Collection
Oleg Kushnirskiy developed an early interest in Old Believer icons, traveling across Russia to buy icons from people in the Soviet period of icons’ decline. The collection that he managed to compile over those years emigrated together with him to the United States in the 1990s, where Oleg founded the Russian Icon Collection project to popularize icons, educate people about their religious and cultural value, and increase their visibility in the global religious art field. The Oleg Kushnirskiy collection currently includes over 60 original, antique Russian icons created in the notable icon painting workshops of Palekh, Mstera, Kholuy, and Guslitsy.
Russian Icon Collection also partnered with icon researchers and historiographers to create a comprehensive icon catalog with high-resolution photos, detailed analyses of each icon, and insightful research commentaries. The catalog that spans centuries of Russian icon art is now available for sale on the official website of Russian Icon Collection.