Ivanishvili donates Pirosmani painting to museum

Georgia’s former Prime Minister, multi-billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili has purchased a rare painting by Georgian artist Niko Pirosmani for 629,000 GBP and is donating it to a Georgian National Museum venue in capital Tbilisi.

Ivanishvili purchased the rare painting at a Sotheby's Auction event in London on June 7.

When meeting with local media today, Ivanishvili said his plan to donate the piece to a local museum museum was part of a larger effort to promote Pirosmani worldwide, Agenda.ge reports.

"Purchasing a Pirosmani work and handing it over to a museum might diminish its popularity, because an artwork should be on the market and visible to the world. But maybe we should have a discussion on exchanging 30% of Pirosmani's paintings with other museums in return for works by other artists. This is why I will hand over this artwork to the museum,” Ivanishvili said.