UPM acquires Mucha collection

The Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague will on Thursday acquire a collection of works by Czech art nouveau painter Alfons Mucha from a Swiss donor, Czech-born Věra Neumannová, a spokewoman for museum said. The museum will present the acquisition, its biggest since 1995, at a press conference on Thursday. The painter Alfons Mucha lived and worked in France for a large part of his life, becoming famous mainly for his posters, advertisements and illustrations made in a decorative "Mucha style." The museum's previous biggest acquisition was a part of the Karlštejn treasure – a collection of items linked to the 14th-century Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia Charles IV. The museum received it from the heirs of Czech entrepreneur and collector Jindřich Waldes, whose family gained it in restitution in the 1990s.

Author: Jan Richter