Returned Collections 2021-2023

From September 5 to September 15, the Dimitri Shevardnadze National Gallery hosted an exhibition. The exhibition showcased artworks from Georgian museums that were taken between 1993 and 2010 and have been recently returned.

The collection features pieces by renowned Georgian artists such as Sergo Kobuladze,Elene
Akhvlediani, Apolon Kutateladze, Edmond Kaladadze, Dimitri Khakhutashvili, Guram
(Khita) Kutateladze, Givi Toidze, Irakli Sutidze, Levan Lagidze, Zaza Berdzenishvili,
Zaur Golava, Tamaz Kakabadze, Rusudan Petviashvili, Temo Japaridze, Otar Sulava,
Medea Bakradze, Vazha Melikishvili, Nodar Topuria, Simon Girkelidze, Neli Aleksidze,
Tengiz Tskhondia, Omar Kachkachishvili, Guram Navrozashvili, Grigol Chirinaishvili,
Shota Lejava, Zaur Deisadze, Kote Chankvetadze, and Gela Mandzhavidze.

Among the returned pieces is an 18th-century still life by an unknown Russian academic artist, originally acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts in the 1930s under the attribution of Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin. The museum recovered the painting, which had been stolen during a 1994 armed robbery, in 2023.

The National Gallery has recently reclaimed several important works by artists such as Grigory Gagarin, Lev Lagorio, Karl Zhukovsky, Yevgeny Lanceray, and Boris Vogel. These pieces are of great historical, ethnographic, and artistic significance for Georgia. Originally housed in the Russian Academy of Arts, these works were returned to the National Gallery in 2021 after being absent for 18 years, thanks to the efforts of the Ministry of Culture of Georgia.