The Collection of Art Works by Ukrainian Émigrés
| Name | The Collection of Art Works by Ukrainian Émigrés |
 Nataliia Gerken-Rusova, Arrangement with the Flapper (uncut sheet) |
| Catalog Number | T-O-UM | |
| Volume | 480 inventory units | |
| State of Cataloging | The collection has been fully cataloged and is freely accessible | |
| Languages of Documents | Ukrainian, Czech |
Painters were a significant group of Ukrainian emigrants in inter-war Czechoslovakia. Many of them studied at Czechoslovakian art colleges, although they founded their own Ukrainian Studio of Fine Arts in 1923. It soon became one of the most acknowledged art institutions in contemporary Czechoslovakia. It offered education in fine arts and applied art and architecture as well. Amongst the founders we can find the well-known Ukrainian historian Dmytro Antonovych. Also professors were outstanding artists. The Studio was accessible for everybody: there were also Czechs, Slovaks and other nationalities. It was closed in 1952.
The collection of art works by Ukrainian émigrés contains works of 53 artists. They were professors and students of the Ukrainian Studio of Fine Arts (i.e. Vasyl Kasiian, Volodymyr Sichynskii, Yurii Vovk, Halyna Mazepa, Sofia Zarytska-Omelchenko, Kateryna Antonovych) and by other Ukrainian artists shown in the Prague’s Museum of Ukraine's Struggle for Independence (i.e. Mykola Bytynskii, Ivan Kurakh, Mykhailo Mykhalevych etc.). From there they got to the Slavonic Library where they were discovered in 1998. Together with the collection of applied graphics, which has been cataloged apart, it is the largest collection of Ukrainian art in the Czech Republic and one of the largest outside of Ukraine.
What is characteristic for the Prague collection are military and patriotic motifs. In many works one can recognize personal experiences of their authors from the war (the Ukrainian Galician Army, the Army of the Ukrainian People’s Republic) and detention camps. There are many portraits and sketches as well. Stage decoration projects can be also found (Nataliia Gerken-Rusova), as well as invitations to exhibits and other cultural events. Drawings and aquarelles are prevailing, although one can see even other techniques (etching, woodcut). The main part is a collection of works by Mykola Bytynskii (the largest collection outside of Ukraine), Mykhailo Mykhalevych and Ivan Ivanets.
Digitized items from the collection are available on esbirky.cz web portal.
The catalogue of this collection was also published (in Ukrainian). Book is available online