CATHERINE THE GREAT COLLECTOR: HERMITAGE'S BRITISH ART TREASURES ON DISPLAY AT SAINT LOUIS ART MUSEUM

"Catherine II," 1782, by Richard Brompton

"Wine Cooler," 1720-1770s, Charles Kandler I

ST. LOUIS -- While previewing the new exhibition at the Saint Louis Art Museum recently, Chicago's British consul bemoaned the fact that not much attention is paid to English art these days.

One who did pay attention during her day was Catherine the Great. Much of the work in the exhibition titled "British Art Treasures from Russian Imperial Collections in the Hermitage," which opens Friday at the museum, was collected by Catherine, Empress of Russia.

The traveling exhibit of mostly decorative art was organized by the Yale Center for British Art. It will remain in St. Louis through Sept. 7.

Catherine, who ruled Russia from 1762-1796, had a special relationship with England, says Judith Mann, the museum's assistant curator of Early European Art. The fact that the English loaned her money when she ascended the throne was only partly responsible.

"Her predecessor, Peter the Great, had been taken with the English," Mann says. "Catherine carried that on. Peter in many ways was her model."

Though the Russian court lay beyond the borders of mainstream European culture, Catherine corresponded with European philosophers and in many ways tried to transfer Europe's Enlightenment to Russia.

Her interest in the West led her to begin acquiring an immensely diverse collection of decorative arts, sculpture and painting. The decorative works include silver, ceramics, furniture, carved gems, silver urns and clocks, most of which were meant to be used.

The exhibit consists of more than 160 of the most important works Catherine and her successors placed in the Hermitage, once the main residence of the Russian tsars and now a museum the equal of the Louvre or the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

Among the masterpieces are Sir Anthony Van Dyck's oil painting "Elizabeth & Philadelphia Wharton," Joseph Wright's "Firework Display at the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome," some enormous wine coolers and a jeweled clock atop the back of four rhinoceroses.

Another highlight is known as the Frog Service, a Wedgewood collection of more than 900 pieces of ceramic ware, each one bearing the likeness of a frog. The service was made for a Russian palace whose name means pond.

Baroque, rococo and neo-classic works can be found in the exhibition. Mann says the exhibition "shows the strong quality of British art and how important a center London was for silversmiths and other artisans."

The sumptuous show also will tell viewers much about the woman who gathered most of these works together.

"This is a show about the collecting of art," Mann says.

In conjunction with the exhibit, the museum has scheduled a Russian film series, gallery talks and special programs. For instance, artists from the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis will perform Russian and English arias and songs at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

Audio tours and tours in Russian will be available.

The museum is closed Mondays. Phone (314) 721-0072 for information.