Ivanishvili donates Pirosmani painting to museum

 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.

12300 views
We use cookies and collect personal data through Yandex.Metrica in order to provide you with the best possible experience on our website.