On the 25th of July (6th August) 1892 Sergei M. Tretyakov, younger brother of Pavel Tretyakov, died. By that time the Gallery had already become famous in Moscow. In accordance with the will of Sergei Tretyakov, his collection of foreign and Russian paintings enriched the Tretyakov Gallery collection.

       Sergei Tretyakov was the owner of a relatively small, but valuable collection of artworks by Russian artists, part of which had been exhibited in the Gallery of his brother Pavel Tretyakov before Sergei's death. Sergei Tretyakov had no desire to compete with his brother and therefore made up his mind to concentrate on collecting West European painting. As I.E. Grabar maintained that this was the best Russian collection of French paintings dating from the middle of the 19th century, notably works by Barbizon School masters - Theodore Rousseau, Julien Dupre, Charles Francois Daubigny, Constant Troyon, Camille Corot and Jean-Francois Millet. This brilliant collection also contained a real masterpiece - the famous painting by Jules Bastien-Lepage "Village Love".

       In August of 1892 Pavel Tretyakov made of gift of both the collections of his brother and his own to the City of Moscow. Sometime later the Moscow City Duma officially accepted the gift of the Tretyakov brothers. Their joint collection comprised 1,287 paintings, 518 drawings, 9 sculptures by Russian artists, 75 paintings and 8 drawings by foreign masters, mainly French and German artists of the late 19th century. This gift was estimated to be worth 1,429,000 rubles.

       The Gallery became the property of Moscow, and P.M. Tretyakov was confirmed as its lifelong trustee. News of the gift made by Pavel Tretyakov reverberated throughout the city. In December of 1896 Pavel Tretyakov was proclaimed Honourable Citizen of Moscow. An official statement released by the Moscow City Duma said the honor had been bestowed "as a sign of the greatest gratitude for the aesthetic pleasure and aesthetic education of Moscow citizens and all people of Russia provided by the treasures carefully collected by Pavel Mikhailovich".

       It took the entire winter of 1892/93 to rearrange the paintings after the merger of the collections of the Tretyakov brothers. Works by Russian artists from P. TretyakovΓÇÖs collection were put side-by-side with canvasses collected by his brother. Works by foreign masters were displayed in a separate room. In August 1893, the Gallery resumed its work, with people visiting it free of charge. It was renamed the Moscow City Art Gallery of Pavel and Sergei Tretyakov.

       In the 1890s, after the Gallery became the property of Moscow, its collection was enriched by a series of truly unique and valuable gifts, including Savrasov's canvas "Country Road" (gift of the artist I.M. Pryanishnikov in 1893), 30 works by N.N. Ghe and his portrait painted by I.E. Repin (gift of his heirs in 1895).

       Tretyakov devoted all his time to his textile mill and the Gallery. Apart from this, Pavel Tretyakov was an honorary member of many councils, scientific committees and educational institutions. He also devoted much time to the Moscow Art Lovers Society, Moscow Art Society, and Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. He made a significant contribution to the founding of the University Museum of Antique Art in Moscow, which provided the basis for the Museum of Fine Arts. Plaster casts of antique monuments and objects kept in museums of Rome were made with TretyakovΓÇÖs financial backing.

       That period saw remarkable changes in the life of the Tretyakov family as well as in the GalleryΓÇÖs life. Being a merchant in the fourth generation, Pavel Tretyakov insisted on his daughters marrying only merchants. Vera who fell in love with the pianist Alexander Ziloti, cousin of the composer S.V. Rakhmaninov, went through many trials and tribulations before her father gave his consent to their marriage, which took place in February 1887. Sergei Botkin, a doctor and collector, became AlexandraΓÇÖs husband. His brother Alexander, also a doctor, who later became a hydrograph engineer and a Far North explorer, married Masha. In May 1894 Lyuba married the artist Nikolay Gritsenko. After his death in 1900, Lyubov married the celebrated painter, graphic artist, costume and stage designer for Diaghilev's performances in Paris, Lev Bakst. Pavel Tretyakov was open-minded enough to appreciate the talents and individualities of these young men.

       The family's life was fascinatingly rich in events and activities. Vera Nikolayevna was fond of music, theatre and painting, but her children and family house were by far more important. When the girls grew up and the elder daughters Vera, Alexandra and Lyubov got married, she began to fade away. In her own words, she was "tired of life". And though she was 13 years her husband's junior, she outlived him only by 3 months.

       Tretyakov was the lifelong trustee of the Gallery till the last days of his life. He constantly enriched the collection with new artworks, acquiring them with his own money or using funds provided by the City Duma annually. In the course of 1893-1897 he acquired over 200 paintings and drawings and handed them over to the Gallery.

       In 1893 Tretyakov began publishing an annual catalogue of his collection. The catalogue prepared in August 1898 but released after his death was the most detailed one. This catalogue contained information on 1635 artworks. The construction of the last annex - two new halls to house the collection of Sergei Tretyakov - was completed round about the same time. The first hall was a memorial displaying a furniture from Sergei Tretyakov's study and drawings by J. Ingres, A. Cabanel, and J. Bastien-Lepage. The second hall was decorated with oak panels. It was specially designed to accommodate paintings by J. Bastien-Lepage, Mariano Fortuny and Camille Corot. An adjoining hall was set aside for sculptures from his collection - works by M.M. Antokolsky and other sculptors.

       The artworks, which were acquired for the Gallery in 1898, included the canvas by V.M. Vasnetsov "Warrior Knights", the last major acquisition of Pavel Tretyakov. It was hung in the hall where it is still displayed. In addition to this painting some other wonderful artworks enriched the Gallery's collection - landscapes by I.I. Levitan, portraits by I.E. Repin and paintings of K.A. Somov.

       The Gallery's founder passed away on the 27th (4th) of December 1898.