Society for the Promotion of the Arts

(prior to 1875, Society for the Promotion of Artists), a society founded in 1821 in St. Petersburg by such art patrons as the noblemen I. A. Gagarin, P. A. Kikin, and A. I. Dmitriev-Mamonov. It existed until 1929. The Society for the Promotion of the Arts organized exhibitions and competitions. It purchased the works of artists and sent artists abroad for additional training. (Among these artists were K. P. Briullov and A. A. Ivanov.) The society awarded medals to artists. In 1857 the society founded an art school in St. Petersburg. The Society for the Promotion of the Arts published the journal Iskusstvo i khudozhestvennaia pro-myshlennost’ (Art and the Art Industry) and the series The Art Treasures of Russia.