Russian Icons through American Eyes: A Forgotten History
Wendy Salmond, PhD
For a brief period, framed by the 1917 Revolution and the end of World War II, Russian icons enjoyed a surge of popularity in the United States. Visitors to Soviet Russia bought them as souvenirs, while American museums hosted them in traveling exhibitions and enterprising galleries sold them as Imperial treasures. WendySalmond revisits this forgotten moment, considering the connections that link the American public of the interwar years with visitors to TMORA’s current exhibition of Russian icons, Masterpieces of Sacred Art from the Oleg Kushnirskiy Collection.
About the Speaker
Born in New Zealand, WendySalmond received her PhD at the University of Texas at Austin and now teaches art history at Chapman University in Orange, CA. Her publications on Russian art include Arts and Crafts in Late Imperial Russia; Treasures into Tractors: The Selling of Russia’s Cultural Heritage, 1918-1938; Tradition in Transition: Russian Icons in the Age of the Romanovs, and most recently,“Eternity in Low Earth Orbit: Icons on the International Space Station.” Her current project is a book on the reception of icons in the United States.
Sunday, October 27 | 7:00 – 8:30 PM | Doors open at 6:00 PM All galleries and TMORA Shop will be open. The lecture will take place in the Main Gallery. All seating is general admission.
TICKETS: General Admission: $12, TMORA Members $10, Students $5
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operation Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.