The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts Director Irina Antonova, left, and Bosco di Ciliegi President Mikhail Kusnirovich attend a meeting of Federal Agency of Culture dedicated to museum’s rebuilding. The project would cost roughly $380 million and completed by 2012.
Photo: Alexey Kudenko
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Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts Closed for Investing
The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts hosted a meeting of Federal Agency of Culture’s Board dedicated to museum’s rebuilding. The project would cost roughly $380 million and completed by 2012, announced Federal Agency of Culture head Mikhail Shvydkoy.
However, neither the dates of rebuilding nor its budget stole the show at that meeting of the board. The greatest sensation was that the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts would close in 2009, its project would be ordered to a famous foreign architect and a portion of area given to some private investor.
Museum’s rebuilding may last a great while, the three-year official term notwithstanding. So, by moving masterpieces of 19th to 20th century to the former premises of Private Collections Museum past summer, Irina Antonova obviously wanted to keep access to, perhaps, the most precious and most frequently visited part of collection.
But future closing of Antonova’s-led museum was just the beginning. The second surprise was announced by Bosco di Ciliegi President Mikhail Kusnirovich on behalf of the Pushkin Museum’s Friends Foundation. Kusnirovich said the foundation had ordered the project to some famous foreign architect. Though no name was mentioned, the stake could be placed on Norman Robert Foster, an English architect and designer, who has had an exhibition in the museum and is the author of British Museum’s rebuilding.
And last but not least, according to proposed procedures for rebuilding, the Pushkin Museum’s dwelling-house of 1914 (the area is 8,000 sq meters; around $100 million in today’s prices) will go to a private investor.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Apr. 25, 2007
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