No, I’m not talking about Tchaikovsky or Gorbachev, or even Vladimir Putin, but Russian icons as in paintings.

The town of Clinton in Massachusetts isn’t exactly where you’d expect to find a Museum of Russian Icons, but this rural central Massachusetts town hosts the personal collection of local businessman Gordon Lankton.

The 300-piece collection is the largest in North America and one of the largest outside of Russia.

This fact alone makes it unique, but the museum itslef is also housed in an eco-friendly and self-sufficient 150-year-old restored three-story building, located in the Central Park area of the town.

The collection of icons on display spans six centuries and includes icons dating from the earliest periods of icon painting up to the present.Russian icon development flourished in the year between 1350 and 1650 in tandem with the growth of the Orthodox Church in Russia. At the peak of production every Christian home would have a location set aside for icons, from the Czar to the poorest dwellings.

The icons themselves include pictures of Christ, the Virgin Mary, saints and religious historical events, and many are richly decorated and ornate. The painters of the icons were not expected to create original art but to produce faithful reproductions, and for this reason many of the icons were not signed and difficult to date except by experts or knowledgable collectors.

After the Russian revolution and the banning of all religious activity, most icons were lost to the world with the public burning of many religious artifacts. Since the breakup of the Soviet Union the surviving Russian Icons have begun to surface and filter back into collections around the world, and interest in the form has increased.

Most Russian icons are painted using egg tempera on speciallly prepared wooden panels - usually cedar or poplar. Often, a thick coat of varnish is brushed over the paint for preservation but the back remains open to the elemts, which attracts moisture resulting in warping - many feel this adds charcter and authenticity to the paintings.

As an avid collector, Gordon Lankton’s icon purchases outgrew his home and so he set up the Museum of Russian Icons in 2006 as a non-profit and for educational purposes. A wonderful gift for all to enjoy, and a man after my own heart.

The Museum of Russian Icons is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11:00am until 3:00pm and has an admission charge of $5. For more information and directions check out their official web site by clicking here.

For more ideas for things to do in the area check out my Massachusetts vacations page by clicking here.

I haven’t forgotten its winter and so I’ll be writing about outdoor activities in my next post in a few days time. Be sure to check back or make it easy and subscribe to my RSS feed by clicking here.

Cliff Calderwood
Executive Director
New England Destinations Guide