Art Deco Museum

Art Deco Museum – private museum, which contains an extensive collection of works of art relating to the Art Deco era: sculptures, interior items, panels. For the first time its doors opened for Russian visitors in 2014. Once within its walls, guests get a unique opportunity to get to know the era of the Golden Twenties. This is the only museum of its kind in all of Russia, opened on the initiative of the well-known businessman Mkrtich Okroyevich Okroyan. The institution is located in the building of a former pharmaceutical factory.

The collection of the museum is known far beyond the borders of Russia. Its exhibits take part in such significant international exhibitions as the Paris exposition of Diaghilev's Ballet Seasons, organized by the famous auction house Sotheby's.

From the history of the museum

The founder of the museum began to collect a large-scale collection back in the 90s, when he traveled to many countries in search of masterpieces of the Art Deco era. Once in Paris, he discovers this style and its diversity, drawing a parallel between the "art deco of the 20th century" and and Russian art.

A graduate of the Faculty of Mathematics of Moscow State University, Okroyan is known as the first serious collector in the country. His first purchase – sculpture of Chiparus, which formed the basis of the future collection of the museum, which is located on the Luzhnetskaya embankment.

Russian art of the beginning of the last century, in particular the works of Diaghilev, became the main reason for Okroyan's interest in art deco.

For many years now, the founder of the museum has devoted himself to activities aimed at preserving the literary heritage left by his father – famous poet of Armenian origin Okro Okroyan.

About the collection

Over the years, Okroyan's interest in collecting art has become systematic, and his collection is replenished with a large number of works from the Art Deco period.

Today, within the walls of the museum, there is an impressive collection of bronze works created in the period  from 1920 to 1930. There are also exhibits made of ivory. The collection of the institution includes about 1000 items, including sculptures by Dmitry Chiparus, works by Ferdinand Preiss and other masters.

The museum pays special attention to decorative panels. The halls of the institution are illuminated by unique lamps created by Edgar Brandt.