Alexander Smuzikov is a millionaire, an investor, and the owner of one of the most significant collections of Russian avant-garde art. He began his career as an entrepreneur in the 1990s, working in the petroleum products market and developing his own network of filling stations. In 2008, the businessman sold the business to TNK-BP and focused on investment projects. Today, the name of Alexander Smuzikov is more often mentioned in connection with exhibitions featuring works from his collection.
Collecting areas
Alexander Smuzikov began collecting art in the 1990s. In 2006, the entrepreneur received the “Silver Badge of Honor of the New Government” award in the Philanthropy category. Today, the collection continues to grow through funds generated by investment projects.
As a collector, Alexander Smuzikov became widely known in 2008, when a painting by Kazimir Malevich from his collection was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York. Blue Rectangle Over The Red Beam (1916) sold for $60 million, a record price for Russian avant-garde painting. According to Forbes, by 2014 Smuzikov’s collection included approximately 5,000 works of art.
The collection of Alexander Smuzikov is built around several thematic areas. Its core consists of paintings and graphic works of the Russian avant-garde, including works by Kazimir Malevich and artists from his circle: Natalia Goncharova, Lyubov Popova, Ilya Chashnik, and Mikhail Larionov.
Part of the collection is devoted to Russian painting from the 18th century to the first half of the 19th century. It includes rare works by Fyodor Rokotov, Dmitry Levitsky, and Vasily Tropinin that were previously known only to a narrow circle of specialists.
In 2012, Alexander Smuzikov acquired a library of rare printed editions covering the history of Slavic books from the 15th century to the Russian avant-garde of the 20th century. A highlight of the collection is the first South Slavic incunabulum, the Octoechos, produced by the early printer Macarius in 1494. The library holds editions from Ivan Fedorov’s printing house, autographs, and instructional books from the Petrine era, including a letter from Peter I to Prince Vasily Vladimirovich Dolgorukov dated April 12, 1708.
As a collector of avant-garde painting, Smuzikov has assembled a substantial body of rare Futurist and Suprematist printed works. One of the most notable books is Kazimir Malevich’s lithographed work Suprematism: 34 Drawings, published in a small print run in Vitebsk in 1920 and largely lost over time.
Works from Smuzikov’s collection regularly appear in major exhibitions at leading state museums, including the Tretyakov Gallery and the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts.
Biographical information
Alexander Yuryevich Smuzikov was born on November 23, 1971, in Moscow. He received a higher education degree from the Russian Academy of Economics.
- 1990–1994 — founded and developed a trading business;
- 1996–1997 — shifted his business interests towards the petroleum products market;
- 1997–2008 — focused on building and expanding his own network of petrol stations;
- 2008 — sold the fuel business to TNK-BP;
- Present — private investment activity.
