Formally, the history of the Art Gallery begins on May 18, 1996,
although long before its opening, preparatory work was already underway,
carried out by the fine arts sector of the local history museum to study
and collect funds. This work continues today. Today the gallery has an
interesting collection of multinational art of the peoples of
Karachay-Cherkessia.
The history of the formation of the art
gallery collections is in many ways typical of provincial museums.
Initially, the collection of fine arts was small, included in the art
section of the museum of local lore and developed throughout its
history, in order to later become a full-fledged branch of the museum
association.
Building(s):
The art gallery is housed in a
corner one-story brick house, built in 1904, which is a monument of
public architecture of the pre-revolutionary period, which previously
housed the commercial bank of the merchant Engel.
Graphically
clear, strictly geometric volume of the building is perfectly inscribed
in the historical buildings, it looks expressive from different points
of view. The building has an angular composition and is perceived as a
memorable accent of an ordinary building. The general concept of the
building and individual decorative motifs of the façade are typical of
southern modernist buildings. It should be noted that architecturally
this monument is one of the most representative in this ensemble.
The desire for stylistic integrity is also manifested in the design
of the facade of the building by the rhythmic repetition of the
geometric forms of the decoration of the protruding verticals,
emphasizing the lines of the front door and windows. The window openings
are framed in the upper part with a stucco cornice. Linear and relief
strictly geometric ornamentation contains some elements of oriental
motifs in the form of crescents. In the roof parapet there are
architectural details in the form of small turrets. Thus, in the
architectonics of the building, the desire for the beauty of all
functionally necessary elements is obvious.