Be transported to the Russia of decades past. From the decadence of the tsars to the destitute communist-rule years, Russian history is filled with contradictions. During the Bolshevik Revolution (1917-1945), a significant amount of Russian-made art was destroyed, lost or taken from the country. Curator Michael Reese has acquired an incredible personal collection of Russian art from that period that he is now sharing for the first time at the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio. From decades of collecting Russian decorative arts, commissioning works from USSR artists and exploring Russia’s vast territories, Reese takes us on a visual journey through Russian history from the time of the tsars to the fall of the USSR. The exhibition paints a clear decorative picture of what it was like to live in Russia during those tumultuous times. Featured objects tell stories of wealth and poverty, political struggle, fashion and religion.
Curator's Talk
Join Curator Michael Reese as he talks about his collection and Russian Decorative Arts from the Tsars to the USSR
Join Curator Michael Reese as he talks about his collection and Russian Decorative Arts from the Tsars to the USSR
Explore the Exhibition
Click through the thumbnails below to view featured objects from the exhibition.
Click through the thumbnails below to view featured objects from the exhibition.
Russian Fashion Virtual Tour
Gayle Strege, Curator of the Historic Costume and Textiles Collection at Ohio State University, talks about the clothing included in the exhibition.
Gayle Strege, Curator of the Historic Costume and Textiles Collection at Ohio State University, talks about the clothing included in the exhibition.
Historian Talk: Russia in War and Revolution
Join Professor Nicholas B. Breyfogle, Ph.D, for a look at the end of tsarist Russia, from the savage destruction of the First World War, to the 1917 Revolutions, the Civil War, and the establishment of Bolshevik power and the world's first communist society.
For further reading, Prof Breyfogle recommends:
Orlando Figes, Revolutionary Russia, 1891-1991: A History
Orlando Figes, Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia
Sheila Fitzpatrick, The Russian Revolution
Sheila Fitzpatrick, On Stalin's Team: The Years of Living Dangerously in Soviet Politics
S. A. Smith, Russia in Revolution: An Empire in Crisis, 1890 to 1928
Ronald Suny, Stalin: Passage to Revolution
Soviet History online: http://soviethistory.msu.edu/
For films, Prof Breyfogle recommends:
Documentaries
The October Revolution in Russia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z95Ed9OK87k&list=PL-aFCEaxbXd-NF9HqpYlVo0JvZFXhzkGS&index=15
The Revolution That Shaped Russia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHZ3Qww9kIY
Stalingrad: The Turning Point of WWII in Europe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzxd_Hy1Myw&list=PL-aFCEaxbXd-NF9HqpYlVo0JvZFXhzkGS&index=1
Russia’s War: Blood upon the Snow (9 art documentary on WWII and the Soviet Union)
My Perestroika
Feature Films
Reds
Komissar/Commissar
Doctor Zhivago
Burnt by the Sun
Come and See (viewer warning -very graphic about WWII)
Moscow Doesn’t Believe in Tears
Russian Ark (amazing film set in one moving take through the Hermitage, set in 19th C. Beautiful cinematography)
Leviathan (profoundly dark look at contemporary Russia)
The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath! (the culturally equivalent holiday movie to It’s a Wonderful Life
Join Professor Nicholas B. Breyfogle, Ph.D, for a look at the end of tsarist Russia, from the savage destruction of the First World War, to the 1917 Revolutions, the Civil War, and the establishment of Bolshevik power and the world's first communist society.
For further reading, Prof Breyfogle recommends:
Orlando Figes, Revolutionary Russia, 1891-1991: A History
Orlando Figes, Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia
Sheila Fitzpatrick, The Russian Revolution
Sheila Fitzpatrick, On Stalin's Team: The Years of Living Dangerously in Soviet Politics
S. A. Smith, Russia in Revolution: An Empire in Crisis, 1890 to 1928
Ronald Suny, Stalin: Passage to Revolution
Soviet History online: http://soviethistory.msu.edu/
For films, Prof Breyfogle recommends:
Documentaries
The October Revolution in Russia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z95Ed9OK87k&list=PL-aFCEaxbXd-NF9HqpYlVo0JvZFXhzkGS&index=15
The Revolution That Shaped Russia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHZ3Qww9kIY
Stalingrad: The Turning Point of WWII in Europe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzxd_Hy1Myw&list=PL-aFCEaxbXd-NF9HqpYlVo0JvZFXhzkGS&index=1
Russia’s War: Blood upon the Snow (9 art documentary on WWII and the Soviet Union)
My Perestroika
Feature Films
Reds
Komissar/Commissar
Doctor Zhivago
Burnt by the Sun
Come and See (viewer warning -very graphic about WWII)
Moscow Doesn’t Believe in Tears
Russian Ark (amazing film set in one moving take through the Hermitage, set in 19th C. Beautiful cinematography)
Leviathan (profoundly dark look at contemporary Russia)
The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath! (the culturally equivalent holiday movie to It’s a Wonderful Life
A Russian Christmas
George and Jeanne Johnson, Curators
2020 - January 8, 2021
Once again, the Christmas display by George and Jeanne Johnson will reflect the current exhibition. The Rising Room boasts a tree filled with Christopher Radko decorations, the hall exhibits Russian-made decorations, and the Double Parlors become a Siberian forest with aluminum trees that reflect the US - USSR space race of the 1960s. The Lower Level Gallery displays Christmas decorations made in post-WWII Soviet Bloc countries.
George and Jeanne Johnson, Curators
2020 - January 8, 2021
Once again, the Christmas display by George and Jeanne Johnson will reflect the current exhibition. The Rising Room boasts a tree filled with Christopher Radko decorations, the hall exhibits Russian-made decorations, and the Double Parlors become a Siberian forest with aluminum trees that reflect the US - USSR space race of the 1960s. The Lower Level Gallery displays Christmas decorations made in post-WWII Soviet Bloc countries.