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Exhibition „Unveiled: The Art Collection of Lietuvos bankas“

Event date: 2025 y.February0213 d. - 2025 y.May0518 d. All events
Valdovų rūmai
 
Organisers of the exhibition
Lietuvos bankas
Money Museum of Lietuvos bankas
National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of
Lithuania
 
 
The art collection of Lietuvos bankas is little known, let alone seen by the public. The exhibition at the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania offers a unique opportunity to view a selection from nearly 200 artworks in Lietuvos bankas’ collection, which are being presented to the wider public for the very first time.
 
The exhibition showcases some of the finest artworks by interwar and contemporary Lithuanian artists, including pieces by Petras Rimša, Antanas Žmuidzinavičius, Justinas Vienožinskis, Augustinas Savickas, Jonas Švažas, Adomas Galdikas, Juozas Mikėnas, Dalia Kasčiūnaitė, and others.
 
The goal of the exhibition is to engage the audience and foster a dialogue with society, unveiling a part of Lithuania’s central bank that has been previously hidden. An intention also reflected in the exhibition’s title.
 
The history of the art collection of Lietuvos bankas goes back to the construction of the Bank’s building in Kaunas in the 1920s. When the work of the interior decoration was in progress, the Bank’s management with its first Governor Vladas Jurgutis (1885–1966) and architect Mykolas Songaila thought about the aesthetic aspects of the building: the paintings, sculpture pieces, ceiling décor, and the furniture. The Lithuanian art elite of the time, the leading interwar artists and teachers, including Petras Kalpokas, Adomas Galdikas, Adomas Varnas, Kazys Šimonis, Justinas Vienožinskis, Jonas Šileika, Jonas Janulis, Antanas Žmuidzinavičius, Vladas Didžiokas, also willed to be part of the effort. In 1927, they wrote a letter to the Board of Lietuvos bankas proposing to contribute to the decoration of the building. The artists ready to paint scenes on the coffered ceiling of the Bank’s Operations Hall anticipated the course of possible collaboration with the architect and the builders. Many of the works of the interior decoration were carried out by Kajetonas Sklėrius. His allegorical sculpture piece Two Peasant Women, a Worker and a Soldier (1926) became the focal point of the structure’s façade. When the new building in Kaunas was constructed, the Bank purchased more works of art from survey and solo exhibitions. The Board of the Bank were considerate in their choice and understood that historically themed paintings, usually of a large-scale, featuring military heroes or battle scenes would not be fitting to the setting of the state’s most important financial institution. Therefore, the clients and visitors to the Bank were welcomed by pleasant artwork of a moderate scale, suitable to the interior space, featuring images dear to the eye of Lithuanians, such as views of the countryside with lakes, homesteads and lovely fields. The artwork by many of the mentioned artists became part of the Bank’s art collection presented at this exhibition. The pieces accumulated during the interwar years make the golden fund of the Bank’s collection.
 
After the re-establishment of Lithuania’s independence, the country’s central bank started setting up in Vilnius. The restoration and decoration of the Bank’s buildings and outdoor spaces gave powerful impetus for the renewal of the whole collection of the acquired artwork. The rapidly growing collection now included contemporary pieces of art and more artists. In the late 20th and the early 21st centuries, the Bank acquired around 100 paintings, graphic prints, pieces of sculpture, textile, ceramics, and assemblages. Although the primary goal for enlarging the collection was to decorate the Bank’s interior spaces, the artists received commissions for outdoor sites as well (Romualdas Kvintas’ and Gediminas Piekuras’ sculptural pieces).
 
The art collection of Lietuvos bankas was built up and is compiled to this day as one that meets the needs of the institution. There is no intention of transforming the Bank into a museum or public gallery. The building of the collection follows the tradition upheld by many European central banks: the works of art are obtained to decorate the interiors and create an aesthetic environment.
 
The present-day art collection of Lietuvos bankas totals nearly 200 works, making it the largest among the Baltic central banks. By purchasing artworks, Lietuvos bankas sets a commendable example to other state institutions and shows interest in the artistic pursuits of the artists. The best specimen from the collection are presented in exhibitions, such as the international events held by the European Central Bank.
 
 
Owner of the pieces included in the exhibition
Lietuvos bankas
 
Curator of the exhibition and text author
Dr Viktoras Liutkus
 
Architect of the exhibition
Povilas Vincentas Jankūnas
 
Coordinator of the exhibition
Asta Ravaitytė-Kučinskienė
 
Coordinators of the exhibition’s cultural and
educational programme
Asta Ravaitytė-Kučinskienė
Tomas Vaitkus
Dr Ramunė Šmigelskytė-Stukienė
Saulė Matulevičiūtė
Viktorija Liubinaitė
 
Publishing coordinators of the exhibition
Asta Ravaitytė-Kučinskienė
Dr Živilė Mikailienė
 
Designer
Inga Varnelė
 
Layout by
Neringa Gricė
 
English editor
Aušra Kamandulytė
 
Translated into English by
UAB Alumnus
 
Media partner
LRT
 
We express our sincere gratitude to
National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania
M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art 
Lithuanian Central State Archives 
Lithuanian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired
 
Published:: 2025-01-24 10:41 Modified: 2025-02-13 10:37
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