Pavel M.Tretyakov, 1891

On July, 25 in 1892 Sergei Tretyakov, the younger brother of Pavel Tretyakov, unexpectedly died. According to the last will, his collection of foreign and Russian art was attached to the Gallery of his older brother. Actually Sergei Tretyakov’s collection of Russian paintings was relatively small, but valuable. The younger brother didn’t want to compete with his older brother, and therefore concentrated on collecting West European painting.

Sergei M.Tretyakov, 1880

In August of 1892 Pavel Tretyakov presented his art gallery to Moscow City. By that moment the collection consisted of 1,287 paintings, 518 drawings and 9 sculptures by Russian artists, 75 paintings and 8 drawings by foreign artists (mainly French and German masters of the late 19th century). This gift was estimated at 1,429,000 rubles.

News about the great gift to Moscow, made by Pavel Tretyakov, spread all over the city, and in December 1896 he was proclaimed an Honourable Citizen of Moscow. An official statement of Moscow municipal duma (city parliament) said that it was "a sign of the great gratitude for the aesthetic pleasure and education, got by Moscow citizens and all people of Russia with the treasures carefully collected by Pavel Tretyakov". Moscow municipal duma also decided to allocate 5000 roubles for acquisition art works for the Gallery annually.  In 1893 the Gallery got the name “Moscow City Art Gallery of Pavel and Sergei Tretyakovs”. People could visit it for free.

After presenting the collection to the city Tretyakov didn’t stop caring of the Gallery. He was appointed and remained its trustee to the end of his life.

In December of 1896 Pavel Tretyakov was proclaimed Honourable Citizen of Moscow.

The collection was enriched with more than 200 paintings and drawings in 1890-s. Among them were 30 works by N.Ghe, Pavel Tretyakov’s portrait painted by I.Repin (gift of his heirs in 1895), canvases of A.Savrasov, V.Serov, N.Kasatkin, M.Nesterov and others.

Starting from 1893 P.M.Tretyakov began publishing catalogues of the collection annually. He contacted artists, their relatives and heirs, other collectors to add facts and details about the pictures in his catalogues. Sometimes he would suggest changing the names of the pictures, making them shorter or more precise. The catalogue of 1898 was the most complete and detailed edition, it contained information on 1635 artworks.
That was the last catalogue, prepared by the great collector, but it was released after his death.

Tretyakov spent most of his time at his textile factory and in the Gallery. Besides that he was an honorary member of many boards, scientific committees and educational institutions: “Moscow Society of Art Amateurs”, “Moscow Art Society”, “Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture” etc. He contributed significantly to the foundation of the Antique Art Museum in Moscow University, which later became a basis for the Museum of Fine Arts. Plaster casts of antique sculptures from Rome museums were made with Tretyakov’s financial backing. He did a lot for Arnold school of deaf-and-dumb children, sponsored the expedition of great Russian ethnographer and explorer of Australia N.Mikluho-Maklay, established numerous grants and stipends, helped poor people. The list of Pavel Tretyakov’s donations was really endless.

Exposition of Moscow City Art Gallery of Pavel and Sergei Tretyakov. 1898

Surprisingly, but Pavel Tretyakov still paid much attention to his family's life, which was fascinatingly rich in events and activities. Being a merchant in the fourth generation, Tretyakov first insisted on his daughters marrying only merchants. So Vera Tretyakova who fell in love with a pianist Alexander Ziloti (cousin of the composer S.Rakhmaninov) went through many trials and tribulations before her father gave his consent to their marriage. Sergei Botkin, a doctor and collector, became Alexandra Tretyakova’s husband. His brother Alexander Botkin, also a doctor, who later became a hydrograph engineer and an explorer of the Far North, married Masha Tretyakova. In May 1894 Lyubov Tretyakova married an artist Nikolay Gritsenko, but he died soon, and in 1900, she married Lev Bakst – a famous painter and stage designer of Diaghilev's performances in Paris. In spite of his own views Pavel Tretyakov was an open-minded person enough to appreciate the talents of his sons-in-law.

In 1898 Tretyakov bought a canvas by V.Vasnetsov "Warrior Knights". That was his last acquisition. The picture still hangs on the same wall in the same hall, where he placed it.

Last years Pavel Tretyakov didn’t feel well, besides he was very worried about his wife’s health after her stroke. In November 1898 he went on his last business trip to St.-Petersburg. He felt bad upon returning and on December, 4th at the age of 66 the founder of one of the greatest museums of the world passed away. The last words addressed to his relatives, were: “Take care of the Gallery and be well…”

Though his wife Vera Nikolayevna was 13 years younger than her husband, she outlived him only by 3 months.