Gift, Transfer, or Problematic Acquisition?

After the Communist Party took power in 1948, the collections of the National Gallery Prague and other state galleries grew through means beyond standard purchases, donations, and bequests. This lecture places problematic acquisitions of artworks from private collectors' collections into the historical, political, and social context of the second half of the 20th century.

The focus will be on selected private collections, their owners, and their fates - specifically art historian Vincenc Kramář, Communist interior minister Rudolf Barák, and others. The lecture also includes stories of specific works and their path into the National Gallery Prague collections: Pablo Picasso's "Self-Portrait" and "Grey Head", Josef Šíma's "Wondrous Afternoon", and others.

Lecturer: Markéta Čejková is an independent art historian who has long focused on 20th-century art, particularly the period 1945-1989.