Celebrating May 4, LNMM shares the joy and gratitude for the gifts received, which are united by the concern of Latvian communities established abroad during the decades of occupation to preserve the values of Latvia’s national cultural heritage for future generations.
Already in the exposition of the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design Classical values a large-format decorative plate painted by the artist Roman Suta (1896–1944) can be seen Weddingcreated around 1928 in a legendary porcelain workshop Baltars (1924–1931). The unique example of porcelain art belonged to Aina Nagobad-Abola (1920–2021), who was the first ambassador of the restored Latvia to France, represented Latvia in Spain and Portugal, as well as in UNESCO and other international organizations.
News about the expressed desire of the excellent diplomat and the Latvian patriot family to donate a plate Wedding The Latvian National Museum of Art received it through the Latvian Embassy in France. Thanks to the embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia, the fragile item was safely delivered to the museum from Paris.
LNMM representatives Dace Ļaviņa and Iveta Derkusova say that Romana Suta’s work in the field of porcelain painting is largely related to the revelation of Latvian identity – both in the depictions of everyday fieldwork, which acquires an almost sacred meaning, and in interpretations of national holiday scenes. Wedding In the series Suta has created several plates, but each of its variants has its own unique way of expression – the solutions of the painting composition, the arrangement of the figures and their stylization, the decoration of the edges and the color palette differ.
In the 1930s, Rūdolfs Pelše (1880–1942), a professor at the Latvian Academy of Arts and head of the Ceramics Workshop, acknowledged that the workshops awarded at the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Art in Paris Baltars painted porcelain objects have become a rarity. That’s why a plate made in a workshop that achieved national brand status Wedding The preservation of the museum to this day is a special event, moreover, the specific subject brings with it the story of Aina Nagobad-Ābola’s family and the fate of Latvia woven into it.
LNMM received one of the largest donations in recent years in connection with the retrospective dedicated to the 150th anniversary of Rihards Zariņš (1869–1939) What do the forests of Latvia do? (2020), when more than 70 works of artists were canceled from the USA to Latvia. After the exhibition, the grandson of Dr. Aivars Celmiņš presented them to the museum.
The museum received a gift from the American artist Juris Ubans (1938–2021) for 23 works by his father, the painter Konrad Uban (1893–1981), which covers a wide period of time, from landscapes in Penza in 1916 to compositions in the 1950s.
In turn, the canvas of Kārlis Brencēns (1879–1951) Portrait of Marta Vītoliņa (born Zalucka)which the artist painted in Riga in 1925, was donated to the museum by the grandchildren of the immortalized lady living in England.
The Latvian National Museum of Art would like to thank the donors and their families, who have preserved the works of art to this day, Dace Ļaviņa and Iveta Derkusova emphasize.
–
