In conjunction with the Minnesota Orchestra’s performance of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, The Museum of Russian Art presents Baba Yaga in Art, a special miniature exhibition at Orchestra Hall on October 16–17, 2026.
Baba Yaga, the fearsome witch of Slavic folklore, inspired one of the most thrilling movements in Pictures at an Exhibition. TMORA’s display features lacquer boxes shaped like Baba Yaga’s famous hut on chicken legs, matryoshka, and a whole village of fantastical huts — a veritable Baba Yaga queendom.
At the center of the exhibition is a remarkable 1906 iron clock from TMORA’s collection. Made at the Kasli Iron Works, the clock is based on Viktor Hartmann’s design for a clock in the form of Baba Yaga’s hut. Hartmann’s design was one of the original “pictures” that inspired Mussorgsky to compose Pictures at an Exhibition.
Baba Yaga in Art will be on view at Orchestra Hall before the October 16 and 17 performances and during intermission. The concert features violinist Himari, the extraordinary young musician who made her Berlin Philharmonic debut at just 13, performing Glazunov’s Violin Concerto. The program culminates with Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, bringing the connection between music and visual art to life.
Learn more and get tickets from Minnesota Orchestra
Baba Yaga, illustration for the fairy tale Vasilisa the Beautiful, 1900
Illustration
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