Soviet sale of Hermitage paintings National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. In the late 1920s, the Soviet government urgently needed foreign currency to finance the rapid industrialization of Russia ordered in the first Five Year Plan. The government had already sold off collections of jewelry, furniture and icons seized from the Russian nobility, wealthy classes, and the church. In February 1928, the State Hermitage Museum in Leningrad, along with the Russian Museum, was ordered to make a list of art works worth at least two million rubles, for export. A special agency called 'Antiquariat' was created under the "Narkompros" (the People's Commisariat of Enlightenment)
The Hermitage, Vaucluse and used as a staff training centre, but later returned to its original role as a private home. This Gothic house overlooks Hermitage Reserve and has harbour views. The Hermitage incorporates a smaller house, which was built circa 1840 by Alexander Dick. The Hermitage, Vaucluse The Hermitage is a historic house in the Sydney suburb of Vaucluse. It is listed on the Australian Register of the National Estateas well as the State Heritage Register of New South Wales. The main house was designed and built around 1870-1878 by Edward Mason Hunt, influenced by the design of Roslyndale, in Woollahra, New