The Savitsky Museum in Nukus: The "Louvre in the Desert"

Nukus is the capital of Karakalpakstan, one of the most remote cities in Uzbekistan, standing on the edge of the former Aral Sea. No one passes through here on the way to somewhere else: people come to Nukus on purpose. And they come for one thing — the Igor Savitsky State Museum of Arts. It's a place where two almost incompatible things meet: a desert province on the edge of the USSR and one of the greatest collections of 20th-century avant-garde art. The story of how it ended up here is no less astonishing than the paintings themselves.

In short: the Savitsky Museum in Nukus — the State Museum of Arts of the Republic of Karakalpakstan — was founded by the artist and collector Igor Savitsky in 1966. It's called the "Louvre in the desert": it holds one of the world's largest collections of Russian and Soviet avant-garde — by a common estimate, the second-largest after the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. The total holdings are around 90,000 exhibits: painting, graphics, sculpture, archaeology and the folk art of Karakalpakstan and Central Asia. Savitsky spent years gathering works by forbidden and forgotten artists, saving them from destruction. The museum is in the center of Nukus and open daily.

In this guide What kind of museum it is Who Savitsky was What's in the collection Why in the desert How to visit Why it matters FAQ

What is the Savitsky Museum?

It's the State Museum of Arts of Karakalpakstan in Nukus, bearing the name of its founder Igor Savitsky. Opened in 1966, it's known above all for its collection of Russian and Soviet avant-garde of the 1920s–1930s — art that fell under a ban in the Stalin era. Around the world the museum earned the nickname "Louvre in the desert" for its combination of a world-class collection and a remote, almost hard-to-reach location.

Most of the holdings aren't displayed at once: the exhibition occupies two buildings, and only a small share of the collection is shown in the halls. But even that part makes an impression out of all proportion to the place: visitors often describe the visit as a culture shock — an encounter with first-rate art where you'd least expect it.

Who was Igor Savitsky?

Igor Vitalyevich Savitsky (1915–1984) was an artist, ethnographer and collector. He came to Karakalpakstan as part of an archaeological-ethnographic expedition, fell in love with this land and moved here from Moscow in the early 1950s. At first he collected the folk and applied art of Karakalpakstan, and then began to save the works of Soviet avant-garde artists rejected by official culture. In 1966 he secured the creation of a museum and became its first director.

Savitsky's logic was bold and precise: in a far-off desert region, a collection of "undesirable" art wouldn't attract Moscow's attention. He traveled the country, sought out paintings in studios and from artists' widows and heirs, bought them — often on credit and at his personal liability. Some artists brought him their works themselves, understanding that this was the only way their art would survive. So, year by year in Nukus, a collection took shape that would later become famous around the world.

A collector who saved the forbidden. In the years when the avant-garde was deemed "formalism" and destroyed, Savitsky bought up and preserved exactly these works. Many of the masters represented in Nukus were known in their lifetimes but then struck from the official history of art — the museum gave their names back.

What is kept in the collection?

The museum's total holdings number around 90,000 items. The core of its world fame is the collection of Russian and Soviet avant-garde: painting and graphics by artists of the 1920s–1930s, many of whom worked in Uzbekistan and Central Asia. Besides the avant-garde, the museum holds the antiquities and archaeology of the region, as well as one of the largest collections of Karakalpak folk and applied art — carpets, jewelry, costume, household objects.

It's exactly the combination of two layers that makes the museum unique: world-class avant-garde painting sits next to a deep ethnographic collection of the region. In the size of its avant-garde collection, Nukus is, by a common estimate, second in the former Russian space only to the Russian Museum — and that in a city more than a thousand kilometers from Tashkent.

To save forbidden art, it had to be hidden where no one would go. So the masterpieces ended up in the desert.

Why did a great collection end up in the desert?

Nukus's remoteness was not an obstacle but a condition of the collection's survival. In the center of the country, a collection of forbidden avant-garde would quickly have come under the blow of censorship. On the periphery, in the Karakalpak desert, it stayed out of sight — and so it survived. What looks like a historical accident was in fact Savitsky's calculation.

This is the museum's central paradox. Art born in the capitals and rejected there found refuge on the distant periphery. Today that same remoteness has become part of the draw: the journey to Nukus has become a kind of pilgrimage for connoisseurs, and the museum itself proof that the cultural map of the world doesn't coincide with the map of distances.

How do you visit the museum?

The museum is in the center of Nukus and, as a rule, open daily; a separate ticket price applies for foreign visitors, and a guided tour can usually be arranged. Nukus is connected to Tashkent and other cities by air and rail; many combine a visit to the museum with a trip to Muynak on the shore of the former Aral Sea and to the ancient Mizdakhan necropolis.

The schedule, prices and the makeup of the exhibitions are worth checking before the trip: part of the exhibition periodically travels to temporary exhibitions abroad, and the halls are rotated. Before a visit, many recommend watching the documentary about Savitsky and his collection — it helps you understand at what cost what hangs on these walls was gathered.

Why is the Savitsky Museum so important?

The Savitsky Museum is at once a world-class art collection and a monument to human perseverance. It preserved a whole layer of 20th-century art that would otherwise have been lost, and returned dozens of forgotten names to history. For Uzbekistan and the whole post-Soviet space it's one of the main cultural sights, and for Karakalpakstan a symbol that a remote land can hold treasures of planetary significance.

Today the museum is known far beyond the region, its collection shown at exhibitions in Europe, and people come to Nukus specially to encounter it. Savitsky's story ties together the themes Kvazar explores separately: the fate of an artist, the memory of a place, and culture's ability to survive against the odds.

Frequently asked questions about the Savitsky Museum

Where is the Savitsky Museum?

In the center of Nukus — the capital of the Republic of Karakalpakstan in western Uzbekistan, more than a thousand kilometers from Tashkent, near the former Aral Sea.

Why is the museum called the "Louvre in the desert"?

Because of the combination of a world-class collection and a remote location in a desert land. The nickname underscores that first-rate art is kept where you'd least expect to see it.

What is the collection famous for?

Above all for its collection of Russian and Soviet avant-garde of the 1920s–1930s — by a common estimate, the second-largest after the Russian Museum. The museum also holds the archaeology and folk art of Karakalpakstan.

Who founded the museum?

The artist and collector Igor Savitsky (1915–1984), who moved to Karakalpakstan from Moscow. He spent years saving forbidden and forgotten art, and in 1966 secured the creation of the museum.

How many exhibits are in the museum?

The total holdings are estimated at around 90,000 items. Only a small part of the collection is on display in the halls at any one time.

Is it worth going to Nukus just for the museum?

Many travelers go precisely for it. The visit pairs conveniently with a trip to Muynak on the shore of the former Aral Sea and to the Mizdakhan necropolis.

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