History

The All-Russian Museum of Decorative Art is the only museum in Russia that combines the works of decorative and applied art of Russia of the XVIII-XX centuries in its collection. The collection of the museum was formed by 1999 as a result of the merger of the collections of the All-Russian Museum of Decorative Art, founded in 1981, and the Museum of Folk Art named after S. T. Morozov (the former Handicraft Museum, founded in 1885), as well as library and archive funds of the Research Institute of Art Industry. The museum also has private collections: a collection of art metal donated by its collector G. A. Kubryakov, the famous collection of Russian, Eastern and European fabrics by N. L. Shabelskaya, donated by a French citizen P. M. Tolstoy-Miloslavsky, collections of porcelain collected by M. V. Mironova and A. S. Menaker, as well as a collection of porcelain by L. O. Utesov.

Winner of the "Changing Museum in a Changing World" competition in 2004. The project "International Museum festival of historical theaters of Europe "On both sides of the wings".

Collections

The museum presents art products made of metal (including jewelry from leading Russian companies of the XIX-early XX centuries, a rare collection of samovars and art casting), Russian art lacquers, porcelain and glass from Imperial and private factories, works of famous modern masters of decorative and applied art. The collection of works of decorative and applied art of the Russian Art Nouveau has no analogues (including works by M. Vrubel, A. Golovin, S. Malyutin, S. Konenkov, N. Andreev and others), as well as a collection of Soviet art from the 1920s and 1950s, including propaganda porcelain and fabrics. In recent years, the museum's collection has been supplemented with magnificent works by contemporary artists (V. I. Mukhina, B. A. Smirnov, V. S. Muratov and many others). The museum's library houses a collection of rare books. Unique handwritten materials are kept in a special archive fund.

Building

The museum is located in a complex of buildings-a monument of architecture of the late XVIII - XX centuries.  After the previous owners, this old manor is called "Osterman's Manor". Since the second quarter of the XVII century, the estate belonged to the boyars Streshnev, and in 1783 it was inherited by Count Ivan Andreevich Osterman. In 1796, the title of Count Osterman passed to Alexander Ivanovich Tolstoy, a hero of the Patriotic War of 1812. At the end of the XVIII century, the main manor house, rebuilt according to the project of an unknown architect, acquired a close modern appearance.

In 1834, the complex of buildings was transferred to the Moscow Theological Seminary, in 1918 the building was nationalized and transferred to the management of the VTSIK. After the Great Patriotic War, the building housed the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet and the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR. In 1981, the building was transferred to the newly created museum.