Collecting for Armenia - Private art collectiosn in Erevan

The Armenian SSR benefited, to a greater extent than any of the other republics of the USSR, from the activities of private art collectors both at home and abroad. Public collections came into being as a result of bequests and of transfers from the diaspora of nationalized cultural assets. The article describes the historical background and the roles of the most important collectors and founders of museums, and analyzes the relations between Armenia and Armenian communities in the USSR and abroad. There was a broad national consensus on questions of cultural policy. This made it possible to build up significant collections, and also provided conditions for a policy on art which ran contrary to directives issued from Moscow and which indirectly encouraged the development of independent, unofficial circles of artists and art-lovers.