The largest collection of Russian icons outside of Russia is not in New York, London, or Paris, but in the small town of Clinton in Massachusetts, next to a quiet and well-kept Central Park. The personal collection of a local businessman includes over a thousand exhibits of Orthodox iconography.

Gordon Lancton, gradually climbing the career ladder, became the president of a plastics manufacturing company, which allowed him to travel the world. In 1989, he visited Russia and bought his first icon, Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, at a flea market. This passion quickly grew into an extensive collection, and soon the idea of creating a museum emerged, which opened in 2004. For the museum, Gordon Lancton chose the town of Clinton.

The museum occupies two buildings combined into one. The first is a 150-year-old former mill, and the second is a former courthouse and police station with cells for the arrested, also 150 years old. The permanent collection is housed on three floors. In addition to it, special gallery exhibitions showcase contemporary Russian art and icons from other Orthodox cultures.