The Board of Trustees of the Museum of Russian Icons has announced the death of founder Gordon B. Lankton.
After opening a branch of his plastics manufacturing company in Moscow in 1992, he came to appreciate Russian culture, particularly the icon, the emblematic sacred art form stemming from the Byzantine traditions of the Russian Orthodox Christian faith.
Gordon founded the Museum of Russian Icons in 2006. From his early days as a Boy Scout collecting pennies, Gordon was a studious and passionate collector. Whether it was icons, African sculpture, World War I and II posters, or die-cast model cars, Gordon tirelessly pursued not only the objects, but also information about their origins and the artists who created them.