Mikhail Baryshnikov`s art collection will be presented to the public for the first time. The exhibition "The art I`ve lived with" was opened in New York ABA gallery on December 4. According to Bloomberg, it will most likely be repeated in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow in 2013.

64-year-old dancer gave about a hundred works from his collection for this exhibition - among them were the works of the Russian avant-garde, Soviet Nonconformism and contemporary art. In particular, the visitors will see the first two works bought by Baryshnikov: the sketch of the portrait of Sergei Diaghilev by Jean Cocteau and Christian Berard`s sketch for the play "Mozartiana" by Balanchine. The dancer bought them in Paris in 1975, shortly after his escape from the Soviet Union. Also the exhibits include the items connected with the Diaghilev ballet in particular, the sketches for costumes and pieces of scenery made by Leon Bakst, Alexander Benois and Sergei Sudeikin. Baryshnikov declared that he never considered himself a collector and bought only the things that caught his eye. The dancer is not going to sell the collection.