OMAHA, NEBRASKA.- The Joslyn Art Museum presents Mir Iskusstva: Russia's Age of Elegance, on view through September 14, 2005. During the reign of the last tsar, Nicholas II, many of Russia's leading artists turned their focus to celebrating their shared interests in ballet, music, literature, theatre, art, and design. This great period of creativity, prior to the start of the Russian Revolution, resulted in elegant paintings and works on paper. From Russian landscapes and historic scenes of St. Petersburg to portraits of the artistic elite and costume and set designs for the theatre, these works capture the essence of pre-revolutionary Russia.

Generally unfamiliar to Westerners due to the Revolution which ended artistic freedom and cut off contact with the rest of the world, these artworks will be shown for the first time in the United States at Joslyn Art Museum. Visitors will find 87 exquisite examples of this artistic movement known as Mir Iskusstva (World of Art) from the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. After the Joslyn premiere these works will travel to only two other U.S. museums before they return to Russia.