George Costakis and the Confines of His Collection

Abstract As George Costakis pointed out: “ One of the most important precepts for the collector is that he must precisely, even ruthlessly, define the limits of his collection, and he must resolutely remind himself that – on this particular matter – his reach should never exceed his grasp .” Known as the most famous collector of Russian avant-garde, Costakis, never lost his parallel interest in collecting lubki , religious icons, Russian folk toys and also in the art of the so-called “Non-conformists or the alternative art of the 1960s. He had a twin goal: on the one hand, to expand the confines of his collection of Russian avant-garde, by including the early sources of inspiration of avant-garde artists; and, on the other hand, to demonstrate that this art can provide inspiration to the next generation. In fact, he “exceeded his grasp” only in order to make the art of Russian avant-garde better understood, both in its historical and future context. At the same time he followed Sergei Shchukin’s ethical and educational tradition of keeping his collection in public view, turning his typical Soviet apartment into an open house and finally an unofficial museum of modern art.