ALEXANDER SHILOV GALLERY
The Moscow State Art Gallery of the USSR People’s Artist A.Shilov opened its doors in May 1997, where the collection of paintings and graphic
works of the master donated to the state a year earlier was located. By unanimous resolutions of the State Duma of the Russian Federation
and the Government of Moscow, it was decided to establish a gallery in the old mansion number 5 on Znamenka Street - a building erected in
1829 by architect Yevgraf Dmitrievich Tyurin. The location of the mansion allowed the gallery to organically enter the circle of nearby
attractions, and, soon, it became a real cultural center of Moscow. The opening of the gallery, which received the name of the artist, even
during his lifetime, is an extremely rare phenomenon and extremely significant for the cultural life of the city. High skill and ability to study
psychology and express the inner world of the depicted heroes allowed Alexander Shilov to become the people's favorite and sought-after
artist. The popularity and relevance of the work of Alexander Shilov reached incredible volumes: the queues for exhibitions were stretched for
kilometers by the masters, and after the exhibitions that were held not only in Moscow, but also in other cities of Russia and the world, grateful
viewers left a huge amount of feedback with a request to open a permanent exhibition.
Fans, imbued with the creativity of the master, wanted to be able to constantly observe their favorite work, as well as learn about the
emergence of new works. By 1996, Alexander Shilov makes a decision that influenced his entire later life: a collection of 355 works of the
master will be donated to his native city. The opening of the gallery in May 1997 was attended by the most famous people of Moscow, such as
artists Yuri Nikulin and Sergey Shakurov, singers Makhmud Esambayev and Iosif Kobzon, mayor of the capital Yury Luzhkov and many others.
On the opening day, in their speeches, they all stressed the importance, relevance and significance of the event. Then Alexander Shilov
solemnly promised to give his new works to the city every year, and after 18 years of the gallery’s existence, the number of paintings exceeded
the thousand works donated by the Russian artist - to this day Alexander Shilov works tirelessly, trying to create a pictorial chronicle of his
Homeland. Today in the gallery there are 22 halls with pastel, graphic and pictorial works, one of which is completely dedicated to the heroes
of the war and makes up the exhibition “They Fought for the Motherland!”.