At the beginning of the 19th century, artist Vasily Polenov designed and oversaw the construction of his family’s home, a place where he would also work, high on the bank of the Oka River. Nowadays this place is home to The State Memorial History, Art and Natural Museum Reserve of V.D. Polenov, and is one of the most popular museums in the country. Many see the museum as a memorial to the outstanding Russian landscape artist, and the museum possesses one of the largest collections of Polenov’s work. The collection also consists of pieces from some of his famous contemporaries, including Ilya Repin, Konstantin Korovin, Ivan Shishkin and others.