KAUNO TAPYTOJŲ KŪRYBA LIETUVOS MUZIEJUOSE 1978-1994 m.

The article analyses the politics of museum acquisitions and the prevalence of Kaunas painters' works in the two largest Lithuanian museums dedicated to fine arts - M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art and Lithuanian Art Museum. The conditions and strategies of forming museum collections allowed the M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art to acquire an exceptional Kaunas art collection in 1978-1994. The boundaries of this time period are outlined by certain factors of Kaunas cultural life. In 1978 the State M. K. Čiurlionis Museum of Art (nowadays - M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art) opened an affiliate - the Pictures Gallery. Instantly, the Pictures Gallery held yearly exhibitions of young Lithuanian artists, Kaunas artists (separate exhibitions for painters, sculptors, graphic artists), and the Lithuanian SSR Culture Ministry, Art Fund and museums centralised aquisitions were arranged after these exhibitions. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the centralised financing of art works' aquisition was discontinued. Still, up to 1994, the financing of museums was sufficient and the quite intense acquisition of art works was conducted. The article states that the appraisal of Kaunas painters works is evident in the acquisitions made by the Culture Ministry and Art Fund. Lithuanian Art Museum obtained Kaunas artists' works through these acquisitions. However, M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art didn't limit themselves to allocated works and purposely formed the collection, directing museum funds to obtain creative works by Kaunas artists. M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art gained a crucial financial advantage against Lithuanian Art Museum, when M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum's inclusion into the accounting system of Kaunas city cultural institutions allowed more funding for artwork acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]