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Graphic Art Collection

The Liberec Regional Gallery manages a large collection of graphic prints amounting to thirteen thousand items. The core of the graphic collection consists of numerous collections of ancient prints, from works by Renaissance masters to works by 19th century graphic artists. The collection includes mainly works by German, Dutch, and French artists. Worthy of mention is the collection of prints by an important Mannerist graphic Jacques Callot (1592–1635) or the cycle The Small Passion by the Renaissance master Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528). Apart from works of the above character and origin, the collection also possesses an excellent overview of 20th century Czech graphic artists, which is the second chief part of the collection. For instance, the Gallery boasts almost complete graphic production of Max Švabinský (1873–1962).

In the period before the Second World War, the purchase of works from the property of the Jablonec physician Antonín Randa in 1918 was the most significant act. The physician focused his collecting activities on the works by old German, French, and Dutch masters, including the above mentioned Jacques Callot.

After the Second World War, the collection was extended by confiscates, especially works by German artists operating in the Czech lands in the 19th and 20th century. In the 1950’s there were hardly any new arrivals. Thanks to gifts presented by the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Culture, the Regional National Committee, and to purchases the Gallery made, the collection was extended by low-quality works in line with the then political system. In the 1960’s the Gallery concentrated on acquiring works of contemporary artists and therefore, at that time, the collection was thoughtfully enriched by works of, for instance, Jiří Anderle, Jiří Balcar, Jiří John, Jan Koblasa, Zbyněk Sekal, Aleš Veselý, and others. Furthermore, graphic prints by the top artists (Olga Čechová, Čestmír Kafka, Jan Krejčí, Květa Pacovská, Naděžda Plíšková, Adriena Šimotová, and others) were acquired through transfers or gifts granted by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Culture.

At present, the acquisition activities are focusing on mapping the production of the middle generation graphic artists (František Hodonský, Zdeněk Mézl, Ondřej Michálek, Berenika Ovčáčková, Lenka Vilhelmová) and on complementing the collection with 1960’s graphic art (Čestmír Janošek, Radoslav Kratina, Jan Kubíček, Vladislav Mirvald, Lubomír Přibyl, Bohuslav Reynek, Miloš Ševčík). Moreover, the collection is complemented with works by regional artists such as Václav Benda, Roman Karpaš, and Jan Měřička. Another section to be growing only modestly these days is the collection of German graphic artists living in the Czech environment in the first half of the 20th century (Walther Klemm).