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Art world defies diplomatic chill to create good impression in Russia

Political relations between Britain and Russia may still be in the deep freeze, but when it comes to culture the countries appear not to have noticed anything amiss and are enjoying a rare boom.

The Pushkin Museum in Moscow opened an exhibition of paintings by Joseph Turner yesterday, the first time that the British artist has been displayed in Russia since 1975. The show contains 112 works in a partnership with Tate Britain that has been underwritten by the billionaire Alisher Usmanov.

It follows the success of an exhibition of British dress from the 18th and 19th centuries at the Kremlin Museums, which closed on Sunday after drawing record crowds. More than 65,000 people came to see Two Centuries of British Fashion, which featured 90 pieces from the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was the first time that the Kremlin and the V&A had collaborated on an exhibition.

The Kremlin Museums are repaying the compliment by lending priceless examples from the Russian imperial wardrobe for display at the V&A. The Magnificence of the Tsars exhibition, which opens on December 10, will include clothing that belonged to Peter II, the boy king who died aged 14, the coronation robes of seven Russian emperors and a fancy dress costume worn by Nicholas II to the Winter Ball of 1903...

Read entire article at Times (UK)