Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Marina Mamontova started collecting pictures to decorate her Moscow house in the early 1990s. She now has more than 250 artworks and goes public with her collection today.

Mamontova, chairman of the board of directors at Moskapstroi, a Moscow civil engineering company, will stamp her name on the Russian art world by opening an exhibition space. While many Russian executives are secretive about their purchases, she is the latest to put them on show.

Russian is in its ninth year of economic growth, giving an increasing number of wealthy people more disposable income to spend on fine art. For some, like Mamontova, it has become a passion.

``Russian art of the first half of the 20th century is still not well known, and the works sold at auction tend to disappear into private collections and are never seen again,'' said Mamontova, sitting behind her office desk in downtown Moscow during an interview last week.

In the early 1990s, she and her husband Valerye began to buy late-19th-century and early-20th-century Russian paintings. They are opening the Mamontov Gallery on a side street next to the State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow's premier museum of Russian art. The first exhibition features about 40 artworks from their collection.

``I want the public to have a chance to see these works, and to better appreciate this period of art,'' said Mamontova, who has light brown hair and wears a beige top and pants.

Feminine Touch

Mamontova's 100-square-meter office just off Tverskaya Street, Moscow's main drag, has a bright feminine touch, decorated with works by early 20th century artists Yevgeny Lanceray, Alexander Deineka, and Petr Konchalovsky. A huge bouquet of tulips stands on a table.

The exhibition features modernist works such as Natalia Goncharova's ``Three-Leafed Clover'' (1912). Avant-gardist Robert Falk's ``Birches in Winter'' (circa 1906) is an example of his early impressionist period. There is also ``Group Portrait: Drinking Tea'' (1896) by symbolist Mikhail Vrubel, and ``Portrait of L. A. Mamontova-Muravyeva'' (1897), by impressionist Valentin Serov.

There will also be seven works by avant-garde painter and co- founder of the Jack of Diamonds group, Aristarkh Lentulov, including two paintings: ``Theater Square'' (1936) and ``Woman With a Shawl'' (end of 1930s). His works in private hands are rare. Mamontova said most works were purchased either directly from artists' relatives, or through dealers representing them.

Annual Revenue

Moskapstroi is a privately held company that manages construction projects for the Moscow city government. It builds roads, schools, hospitals, retail space, and residential housing. According to information published by city hall, Moskapstroi's annual revenue is about $2 billion.

The exhibition's closing date is not yet set. Mamontova hopes the next one will feature works from other private collections.

``I don't pretend to have the greatest art collection, and I don't plan to compete with anyone, but I hope other collectors will want to show their work and help the public learn more about this period in Russian art history,'' said Mamontova, who has a two-year-old daughter.

The 200-square-meter gallery, showing not-for-sale works, will also function as a full-fledged cultural center that will organize art history lectures, exhibits of contemporary artists, publish art books, and sponsor concerts of early 20th century Russian music.

She follows plastics magnate Igor Markin, who in June opened Russia's first private museum for postwar art. ``Art4.Ru'' is a 10-minute walk from the Kremlin. In February the Ekaterina Cultural Foundation, a Moscow-based organization headed by Vladimir Semenikhin, the owner of construction company Stroyteks, opened Russia's first private contemporary-art exhibition hall, also a 10-minute walk from the Kremlin.

(John Varoli writes for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the reporter on this story: John Varoli in Moscow at jvaroli@gmail.com

Last Updated: December 20, 2007 03:43 EST