Russian Icons Through American Eyes: A Forgotten History

As part of the public program dedicated to the exhibition Masterpieces of Sacred Art from the Oleg Kushnirskiy Collection, Dr. Wendy Salmond presented the lecture Russian Icons Through American Eyes: A Forgotten History.  In it, she discussed how Americans first learned about icons and how this interest evolved in the 20th century between the Russian Revolution and World War II.

We are publishing a summary of Dr. Salmond’s talk.

1880s: Introduction to Russian Icons

Russian icons first entered the American consciousness in the late 1880s. However, at that time, the American public lacked an understanding of icons—their concept and the iconographic canon. Contemporary newspaper reports described icons as unchanging and monotonous, covered with gold tinsel screens.

An awareness of icons began entering American popular culture partly through painting. For instance, a massive history painting A Boyar Wedding Feast by the Russian artist Konstantin Makovsky, now housed at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens in Washington, DC, became famous in the early 1880s. This painting depicts a 17th-century scene, with an array of icons in the corner as part of the composition. Charles W. Schuman, a New York jeweler of German origin, displayed it in his store, charging a fifty-cent admission fee. For him, it was a way to draw attention to his store by drawing a connection between the opulently dressed Russian nobles in the painting and the jewelry he sold.

Apart from the popularity of Makovsky’s painting, which became widely known through numerous prints, this was also the time when the American public was introduced to the writings of Leo Tolstoy, fueling greater interest in Russian culture, history, and art.

Another factor contributing to the rise of “Russomania” in America was journalist George Kennan, who, in 1888, toured the U.S. giving public lectures that exposed the abuses of Tsarist penal colonies in Siberia. His accounts painted a complex picture of Russia—both brutal and mystical—broadening interest in Russian culture. Notably, Kennan brought back an icon from Siberia for his wife.

The Aftermath of the 1917 Russian Revolution: Icons in Exile

From the early 1900s until the 1917 Russian Revolution, Americans showed little interest in icons. The Revolution changed this, as Bolshevik anti-religious policies flooded the market with icons, attracting collectors. During this period, many Americans visiting Russia—often on humanitarian missions—collected icons amid the chaos.

For example, Fletcher Steele, a landscape architect from Rochester, New York, working for the Red Cross in 1919, acquired icons, one of which is now housed in the Rochester Memorial Art Gallery.

Thomas Whittemore, a scholar and refugee aid worker, brought a 15th-century Ascension icon to America for Isabella Stewart Gardner. Today, it is a centerpiece of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Gardner displayed the icon in a setting that blended religious and artistic elements. She framed it in oak and surrounded it with French holy water fonts and a hand-painted silk scarf by the brother of modernist dancer Isadora Duncan.

This arrangement reflected Gardner’s effort to honor the icon’s sacred nature while reinterpreting it in a broader spiritual and artistic context. Though unconventional from an Orthodox perspective, her display placed the icon in dialogue with both sacred and modernist art.

1920s and 1930s: Rescued Relics

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the Soviet Union’s anti-religious campaign led to a massive release of icons as the Bolsheviks sought to destroy religious artifacts. Yet Soviet intellectuals, notably prominent artist and art historian Igor Grabar, worked to save national treasures by restoring and moving icons to museums. Using scientific methods, they removed layers of overpainting to reveal the original artistry, including works by Andrey Rublev.

From 1929 to 1932, a traveling exhibition displayed such restored icons in Germany, Austria, the United Kingdom, and the United States, presenting them to Americans as artistic masterpieces rather than just religious artifacts.

The Soviet government also encouraged foreign tourists to purchase icons and other goods with hard currency at state-run Torgsin (Trade with Foreigners) stores. Many Americans were among the customers, as documented in photographs by Branson DeCou. Numerous icons from these stores still bear Soviet-era labels and occasionally appear at auctions.

A significant contribution to the popularity of icons in the US was made by businessman Armand Hammer, who had close ties to the Soviet Union. Together with his brother Victor, he capitalized on the public’s fascination with the Russian Imperial family. They acquired artifacts, including icons, from former Imperial properties and marketed them as relics of the Romanov dynasty.

In Conclusion

The years between the Russian Revolution and World War II marked the first chapter of icon collecting in America. During this time, icons gained recognition as valuable artifacts of Russia’s cultural heritage. This period set the stage for future waves of interest, shaped by shifting historical and cultural contexts, particularly after the Soviet Union’s dissolution in 1991.