George Costakis (1913–1990) was born in Moscow to Greek parents. Lacking formal education, he developed a deep passion for art from a very young age. With remarkable instinct, he began collecting works from the Russian Avant-Garde during a time when the Stalinist regime was promoting Socialist Realism. As a result, the avant-garde works, banned by the government, were sold at extremely low prices by the persecuted artists.

Over the years, his collection grew to include works by renowned artists such as Chagall, Kandinsky, Malevich, Popova, Rodchenko, Klyun, and others. His apartment gradually transformed into an unofficial museum of modern art, attracting a diverse group of visitors, including artists, politicians, historians, and art enthusiasts.

By the 1970s, the collection had expanded to include approximately 5,000 paintings, drawings, and sculptures, which traveled to prestigious museums around the world. In 1977, overwhelmed by constant harassment from the KGB, Costakis left the Soviet Union and moved to Greece with his family, donating three-quarters of his collection to the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. He brought the remainder with him, which is now housed and displayed at MOMus, the Museum of Modern Art in Thessaloniki.

In Greece, at the age of 70, Costakis began painting for the first time in his life. He felt compelled to create, seeking to articulate his own personal language. The distinguished Greek diplomat, historian, and art critic Alexandros Xydis observed: “From the overflowing depth of his sensitivity and the pressure to express himself, Costakis created landscapes: those of Russia from memories, and those of Greece from a direct, fresh perspective. I do not compare or evaluate; I simply stand in awe, admiration, and with a certain amount of humor before the highly personal works of a man. Why shouldn't we also partake in his emotion, so spontaneous, innocent, and sincere? This is a man who was sophisticated enough to build an extraordinary collection yet remained, in his art, exactly as his works reveal: genuine, humble, and approachable.”