The Benois Wing

As the collection increased in 1914–1919 the Exhibition Pavilion of the Imperial Academy of Arts was built according to the project of Leonty Benois and S. O. Ovsyannikov. It was named the Benois Wing.

The laying of the cornerstone of the future "Palace of Arts", as this new building was referred to, took place on 27 June 1914. However, the construction was finished only after the Revolution of 1917. The new authorities awarded the Palace of Arts to the Russian Museum. Since then it has been home to temporary exhibitions as well as permanent exhibitions of late 19th-century – early 20th-century art and 20th-century art.

In 1953 the Benois Wing was connected with the main building of the museum with a glass gallery (not envisaged by the original project), which made the exposition more logical and complete.