History of the Museum
The State Museum of Arts of the Republic of Karakalpakstan named after I. V. Savitsky is one of the largest art museums in Uzbekistan. According to experts, the museum holds the second-largest and most significant collection of Russian painting and graphic art of the first half of the 20th century (after the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg).
Date of establishment: February 5, 1966 — by decision of the Government of the Republic of Karakalpakstan.
Opening to visitors: May 1966.
First building: second floor of the Regional Studies Museum of the Karakalpak ASSR, 2 Karl Marx Street (Nukus).
The founder and first director of the museum was Igor Vitalievich Savitsky.
Significant assistance in establishing the museum was provided by:
scientist and public figure Marat Kuptleuovich Nurmukhamedov,
Secretary of the Karakalpak Regional Committee of the Communist Party in the 1960s Kalibek Kamalov.
Biography of I. V. Savitsky
Early life
Born on August 4, 1915, in Kyiv in the family of lawyer Vitaly Viktorovich Savitsky and Vera Timofeyevna Florinskaya.
From an early age, he was interested in drawing.
In the early 1920s, the family moved to Moscow, where he studied under artists R. Mazel and E. Sakhnovskaya.
Education
1934–1936 — Moscow Polygraphic Institute (Graphic Department)
1936–1938 — Moscow Regional Art and Pedagogical College named after the 1905 Uprising
1936–1941 — Institute for Advanced Training of Artists (Monumental Painting Department)
1941 — enrolled at the Moscow Art Institute (Graphic Department)
1942 — during evacuation ended up in Samarkand (first encounter with Central Asia)
1945 — graduated and became a member of the USSR Union of Artists
Creative and scientific activity
1950–1956 — artist of the Khorezm archaeological and ethnographic expedition of the USSR Academy of Sciences (headed by Prof. S. P. Tolstov)
1956 — moved to Nukus. Worked at the applied arts laboratory of the Karakalpak branch of the Academy of Sciences of the Uzbek SSR.
He began large-scale collection of decorative and applied arts of the region.
At the same time, he continued painting and supported local artists.
Museum founding
1966 — Savitsky’s idea of creating a cultural center in Karakalpakstan was realized. From the moment the museum opened, he devoted himself entirely to museum work. Thanks to his artistic education, taste, intuition, and determination, he assembled a unique collection:
materials of ancient Khorezm archaeology,
decorative and applied arts of the peoples of Karakalpakstan,
20th-century Russian and Uzbek painting and graphic art.
Later years and legacy
1984 — I. V. Savitsky died in Moscow. According to his will, he was buried in Nukus.
In the same year, the museum was named after its founder.
2002 — Savitsky was posthumously awarded the Order “For Outstanding Services” of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Savitsky dreamed that the museum would be visited not only by the people of Karakalpakstan but also by art lovers from all over the world. Today, this dream has come true: the museum has a specially designed building and welcomes tourists and specialists from many countries.