Tretyakov Gallery

The State Tretyakov Gallery is Russia’s foremost gallery of Russian fine art with its origins in the private collection of Pavel Tretyakov. The collector began assembling works in the mid-19th century and gifted the collection to Moscow at the end of that century.

The gallery’s historic building on Lavrushinsky Lane contains key masterpieces including medieval icons and 19th-century realist paintings by artists such as Ilya Repin and Ivan Shishkin. A second Tretyakov building on Krymsky Val in the Gorky Park area holds 20th-century and contemporary Russian art, creating a two-site national collection.

Pavel Tretyakov purchased and curated the original holdings from the 1850s onward and formally presented them to the city in 1892; the collection has since grown through acquisitions, donations, and state additions. The organization has expanded into multiple buildings to separate historic and modern collections.

Located in central Moscow, the primary Tretyakov building sits on Lavrushinsky Lane in the Zamoskvorechye district, with the New Tretyakov on Krymsky Val close to Gorky Park and the Moscow River.

• Founding: Founded from the private collection of collector Pavel Tretyakov, who began buying works in 1856 and donated the assembled collection to the city of Moscow in 1892.

What to See #

• Old Tretyakov (Lavrushinsky Lane): The original Tretyakov collection on Lavrushinsky Lane houses the core historic holdings of Russian religious icons and 19th-century realist painting and occupies the historic gallery building in Zamoskvorechye.
• New Tretyakov (Krymsky Val): A separate building on Krymsky Val in Gorky Park displays 20th-century and contemporary Russian art and serves as the museum's modern art outpost.