2019 will mark 100 years since the implementation of the unique museum project of Soviet Russia – the creation of the Museum of Pictorial Culture, the first museum of contemporary art in our country.

The creation of its concept, its development and organization was contributed by the leading artists of its time: Wassily Kandinsky, Kazimir Malevich, David Shterenberg, Vladimir Tatlin, Aleksandr Drevin. The Museum was a branch of the Tretyakov Gallery from 1924 to 1929. The works that were part of its main collection – Black Square (1915) by Kazimir Malevich, Composition VII (1913) by Wassily Kandinsky, The Violin (1915) by Lybov Popova, Soldier (1911) by Mikhail Larionov and others – today adorn the permanent exhibition of the New Tretyakov Gallery.

The exhibition will present the history of the Museum of Pictorial Culture as an important stage in the history of Russian avant-garde and the history of the Tretyakov Gallery’s acquisitions. The exposition will reflect the unique structure of the museum. The exhibition will include more than 300 paintings, drawings, sculptures from 18 Russian and 5 foreign collections. For the first time, the audience will be presented with experimental analytical work of the museum. Unique archival documents will be an important part of the exposition.