Tate Britain and Pushkin Museum to exhibit William Turner in Moscow

Thursday, 27 March 2008 21:10

LONDON - London´s Tate Britain and Moscow's Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts will sign an agreement that signals the first William Turner exhibit in Russia in 30 years. TPushkin Museum of Fine Arts he last time works of art made by Turner were shown in Moscow was in 1975. That exhibit brought together works from several British Museums.

The show is scheduled to begin in November and will ``be entirely financed'' by Russian steel billionaire, Alisher Usmanov, the museum said. Bloomberg reported that, “Forbes ranks Usmanov as Russia's 19th-richest person, and the world's 91st wealthiest, with a fortune of $9.3 billion, up from $5.5 billion in 2007.”

``A whole generation has passed since the first and last Turner exhibition in Moscow,'' said the Pushkin Museum's deputy director, Zinaida Bonami, in a telephone interview to Bloomberg reporter John Varoli. ``It's important the new generation in Russia see his works since he was such an important influence on the art movements that came later.''

The Turner exhibition comprises approximately 100 works of art. The museum reported that 40 are oils and 60 are watercolors. All the works will come from Tate Britain in London, and will include a ``Self-Portrait,'' ``The Battle of Trafalgar'' and ``The Burning of the Houses of Parliament.''