Collections of Stroganov Academy’s College of Design and Applied Arts

The College contains a unique Educational Museum. Its uniqueness is even in the fact that it was founded earlier then the College itself. Of course, it wasn’t an Educational Museum at that time, but even then - at the beginning of the XX century - it was called a school-museum.
At that time the museum was called Handicraft Museum. It opened in 1885 in the very heart of Moscow – Nikitsky Vorota district.  Twenty years later the museum grew bigger and included the nearby building on Leontievsky pereulok due to the sponsorship of Savva Morozov.
The collection of the museum also expanded and required a lot of research and attention. The museum did a lot of practical work with folk artists and craftsmen. That is why the Handicraft Museum became the very first (and for a long time the only) in Russia, who carried out a package approach to folk art. So it was quite logical to open a college within the structure of the Museum of Handicraft Industry.
The idea first came to the same Savva Morozov who in 1910 added two floors to the museum building especially for future college. The necessity of close relations between college and Handicraft Museum seemed so obvious to him. He considered the proximity of the educational institution to the folk art as a practical help for students.
Circumstances did not allow Morozov to carry out his plan, but the idea was not lost in vain. In 1920, despite the revolutionary changes, the college was opened. It was called Moscow College of Handicraft Industry and from 1922 to 1939 it existed on the territory of the Handicraft Museum. Later the college repeatedly changed its name and location. Now it carries the name of Stroganov Academy’s College of Applied Arts and resides on Streletskaya street.
As it was once conceived by Morozov the College focuses on the study and development of the artistic traditions of the historical centers of Russian folk arts. This determines the range of training that the college offers to the students: decorative wood painting, old-Russian painting, metal art, wood art, weaving and carpet art, embroidery art, lace art, design.
The Educational Museum has always been within the College and enriched its collection with the best students’ works. Today its collection started at the Handicraft Museum contains more than 4 thousand items. There is also a collection of best students’ drawings, paintings and composition assignments that counts more than 50 thousand items.
The museum pieces participate and often win at numerous exhibitions, a great number of which are international shows.  Perhaps the most outstanding success was the victory at the Paris World Exhibition when the College works won the Grand Prix and three gold medals.