World News | Irina Antonova, Head of Top Moscow Art Museum, Dies at 98
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. Irina Antonova, a charismatic art historian who presided over one of Russia's top art museums for more than half a century, has died at 98.
Moscow, Dec 1 (AP) Irina Antonova, a charismatic art historian who presided over one of Russia's top art museums for more than half a century, has died at 98.
The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts said Antonova, its president, died in Moscow on Monday. It said Tuesday that Antonova last week tested positive for coronavirus, which exacerbated her chronic heart ailments.
Antonova began working at the Pushkin museum after her graduation in 1945, and in 1961 she became its director.
She held the job until 2013, when she shifted into the ceremonial post of its president. The 52-year tenure made her the world's longest-serving director of a major art museum.
Also Read | United Nations Says Food Has Run Out for Nearly 100,000 Refugees in Ethiopia.
As the Pushkin museum director, Antonova spearheaded major art exhibitions that saw the exchange of art treasures between the Pushkin Museum and top international art collections despite the Cold War-era tensions and constraints.
Those exchanges, facilitated by her extensive personal contacts with colleagues in the museum world, brought Antonova wide acclaim worldwide.
She also was very active in promoting the museum's treasures to the public. Antonova has received numerous Russian and foreign state awards.
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his condolences. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the president often met Antonova at the museum and “highly appraised her deep expert knowledge.”
Antonova will be buried in Moscow's Novodevichy cemetery alongside her husband, who also was an art historian. Funeral ceremonies will be closed to the public amid coronavirus restrictions. (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)