Oleg Kushnirskiy, an established collector of Russian iconographic art, has announced his collaboration with the Museum of Russian Art (TMORA), which will hold an exhibition of 60 rare pieces from his Russian icon collection. The exhibition, titled “Masterpieces of Sacred Art from the Oleg Kushnirskiy Collection,” is organized with sponsorship and support of the art logistics company Fine Art Shippers. It opens on October 26, 2024, and will be on view until January 26, 2025. The collection will be presented to wide audiences in the museum setting for the first time.

All appreciators of the unique Orthodox iconographic traditions can visit TMORA’s Mezzanine Gallery to enjoy “Masterpieces of Sacred Art from the Oleg Kushnirskiy Collection.” The works featured in the exhibition span across the 17th-19th centuries of Russian iconography and unite many exquisite examples of icon painting, with the majority of them dedicated to one of the most popular motifs in Orthodox iconography – The Resurrection (Descent into Hell).

Oleg Kushnirskiy: Art Expert and Icon Collector

Oleg Kushnirskiy was born into a Jewish family in the Ukrainian city of Khmelnytskyi but moved to Leningrad (St. Petersburg) as a child. His early interest in the field of art was photography; Oleg collaborated with private art collectors and public institutions, including the State Hermitage Museum, to take photos of art objects.

After relocation to the USA in 1992, the Kushnirskiy family settled in New York where Oleg continued his career as an art photographer and established a related business – the Russian Heritage Store at the Chelsea Antique Center. Simultaneously with photography and an antique store, Oleg started his Russian icon collection, with a specific focus on the Resurrection scheme featuring the full cycle of Orthodox feasts in the liturgical year. Many pieces in his collection, especially rare 19th-century icons by the Palekh masters, present this scheme in a variety of ways that were traditional for the Russian iconography of those times.

Oleg Kushnirskiy’s Russian Icon Collection

The exhibition of Oleg Kushnirskiy’s collection that opens at the Museum of Russian Art in the coming weeks is only a part of the extensive iconography heritage compiled in the hands of the interested and dedicated art collector and expert. Oleg Kushnirskiy has been fascinated by the unique aesthetics of late Russian icon painting since his early years of collecting activity. His collection has brought together many vivid examples of icon painting art by the masters of the Palekh, Guslitsy, and Mstyora regions, including icons distinguished by miniature painting.

If you happen to be in Minneapolis, MN, don’t miss “Masterpieces of Sacred Art from the Oleg Kushnirskiy Collection” at TMORA to enjoy some of the best pieces of Orthodox art, which are presented to the American public for the first time. All icons featured in the exhibition will be delivered to the Museum by Fine Art Shippers, a company specializing in handling and transporting fine art and antiques.