Russia Won’t Share Art With U.S.
Directors of leading American galleries have bemoaned a “political” decision by the Russian government which will strip several upcoming exhibitions of paintings by masters such as Paul Cézanne, whose “Smoker” is pictured. The dispute, originally over Orthodox Jewish religious documents, has turned into a diplomatic battle between Russia and the United States that is set to prevent art masterpieces held by Russian museums being loaned to institutions across the Atlantic. Works due to be loaned – by the likes of the Pushkin Museum in Moscow and the Hermitage in St Petersburg – to a number of leading American galleries will stay put in Russia, unless the US gives the Russian museums cast-iron guarantees that they will be immune from seizure.
