The Moscow Art Theater was founded in 1898. Its first season was marked by an important premiere — the theater staged “The Seagull” by Anton Chekhov. Two years before that, it was shown at the stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater in Saint Petersburg. Vera Komissarzhevskaya played the role of Nina Zarechnaya, however, at the time neither the viewers nor the critics enjoyed the play. Chekhov was crushed by the news and felt apprehensive about the upcoming shows in Moscow. But the success was so tremendous that Chekhov would later present all his new plays to the Moscow Art Theater first. The theater adopted the image of a seagull as its emblem and placed it on its curtain.

“The Cherry Orchard” was the last play written by Chekhov. The imminent death of the playwright suffering from tuberculosis was apprehended by many, including Chekhov himself. This anticipation might have set a sad mood for the play. Despite the directions given by Chekhov, Konstantin Stanislavski and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko staged the play not as a comedy but a drama, a tragedy even.

The actress Olga Knipper (1868–1959) played the leading role in all Chekhov’s plays. She met the playwright in 1898 at the rehearsal of “The Seagull” and “Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich.” In the summer of 1899, a longstanding correspondence between them started, and in 1901 they got married.

In 1904, Olga Leonardovna played Ranevskaya. This role reflected her own character traits, such as evergreen vitality, lighthearted attitude towards the ups and downs of life and charming elegance of an emancipated woman. Knipper-Chekhova had been playing the role of Ranevskaya for many years up until she was quite old, and during that time she had different male fellow actors.

The museum houses Olga Knipper’s scene costume for the role of Ranevskaya in the play “The Cherry Orchard.” The costume was created by Nadezhda Lamanova — a famous couturier who worked with the Russian royal family.