This is the first ever display of the works of nineteenth-century folk icon painters in St Petersburg. Most of the icons are noted for their bright tones, with the prevalence of the colour red. Works painted by the Old Believers constitute a special group. The show also contains works of nineteenth-century graphic art.
Several exhibits illustrate experimental quests and new methods of restoration.
Restoration work was carried out under the tutelage of such teachers of the Nikolai Roerich School of Art as I. Yarygina, O. Petrova and N. Lebedeva. The exhibition includes works of art from museums in Arkhangelsk, Great Ustyug, Yaroslavl, Rybinsk, Kargopole, Velsk and Kenozero, as well as from the collections of the St Petersburg Theological Academy, the V. S. Samsonov collection and the Nikolai Roerich School of Art.