Folk Art
in section
Collection history
The Russian Museum’s collection of folk art is one of the largest in Russia. Its foundations were formed by the collections of the St Petersburg Handicrafts Museum and the School of Folk Art, together with works transferred from other museum collections in the late 1930s. The holdings were subsequently expanded through acquisitions from collectors and craftspeople, works from major art exhibitions, and numerous museum expeditions.
Today the collection traces the development of Russian folk art from the seventeenth to the twentieth century and represents its major artistic centres, crafts and traditional techniques. It includes wood carving and painting, weaving and embroidery, ceramics, metalwork, lacemaking, bone carving and traditional toys, as well as an extensive collection of folk costume.
The full text of the article is available only in Russian.
Media resources
Virtual tour of the exhibition, held in the Russian Museum from March 5 to May 12, 2014.
This documentary film tells about creation of the main building of The State Russian museum - The Mikhailovsky Palace.
The Art collection of the State Russian museum has developed through many phases and expansions. This collection has been forming since the opening of the State Russian museum in 1898
The virtual tour is based on the temporary exhibition of the Russian Museum "You're lovely, dearie, in any attire" (5 March - 12 May, 2014).
The program brings together festive folk costumes belonged to the inhabitants of European Russia - from Arkhangelsk to Voronezh, from Pskov to Nizhny Novgorod, as well as paintings from the museum's collection. The program enables you to explore the costumes in details thanks to high-accuracy photography and to get more information about each of them.
In March 1998 the centenary of the State Russian Museum – the first state museum of Russia containing the national art collection – was celebrated. This program represents the outstanding works of national painting, graphics and sculpture, it the history of the museum and its collections and shows the palaces belonging to the united museum complex.
Divisions: “Masterpieces”, “The Mikhailovsky Palace”, “The Marble Palace”, “The Stroganov Palace”, “The St.Michael’s Castle”, “History in Photographs” and “Jubilee Celebrations”