He also organized an art school in 1894 and wrote a book about gardening. He resigned from the Academy in 1902, in protest over their teaching methods. Although he worked on a variety of subjects, he always had a fondness for religious painting and was planning a triptych of "Holy Russia" when he died. After some bureaucratic wrangling over health permits, he was buried on his estate which, since 1926, has been home to the (PGO).