FILATOV FAMILY ART FUND: MAJOR RECENT INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES
28 May 13
Launched just over six months ago, the Filatov Family Art Fund has been focused on expanding its collection of Russian and Soviet art and developing partnerships with the world’s leading museums.
In April, the Fund and its founder Andrey Filatov initiated and sponsored the Alekhine Memorial, an international chess tournament jointly hosted at the Louvre in Paris and the Russian Museum in St Petersburg. This major sport and cultural event became the second successful experiment in promoting exposure to art through world-class chess events, following Filatov’s sponsorship last year of the World Chess Championship match at the Tretyakov State Gallery in Moscow.
At the same time, the Fund was been very active in the art market, with four significant acquisitions announced in May. The Fund purchased two important paintings by famous Belorussian artist Mai Dantsig – And the World Remembers its Saviours (1985) and Partisan Ballades (1969) – as well as Fedot Sychkov’s iconic depiction of village life, At the Market (1937). The Fund has also further expanded its extensive collection of Nicolai Fechin’s art with the purchase of Taos Girl with Sunflowers (c1930s), representative of the artist’s important Taos period.
The Fund has also supported the exhibition of Nicolai Fechin’s art at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle which was the first major display of Fechin’s art since 1976. The exhibition of 55 paintings, drawn from American museums, the Filatov Art Fund and private owners from across the world, took place earlier this year.
Another major exhibition supported by the Filatov Art Fund is currently on display at the Tretyakov State Gallery in Moscow. Until August 18, the public will have a unique chance to see over 300 works of Mikhail Nesterov, one of Russia’s most popular painters.
Andrey Filatov, founder of the Fund, said: “Over the past few months we have undertaken a number of major initiatives with some of the world’s best known museums, but this is just the beginning. We have also purchased some wonderful works by important Russian and Soviet artists, furthering our goal of building a collection that will reveal the true breadth and depth of Russia’s artistic talent in the twentieth century.”
