Over 1,500 Art Treasures From Ukraine Evacuated to Lithuania

More than 1,500 cultural and artistic valuables from Ukraine have been moved to Lithuania for restoration after the full-scale Russian invasion, Lrt reports.

Among the works are, in particular, paintings by Maria Prymachenko. Negotiations are also underway to transfer 15th-century wooden altars from the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Art in Kyiv.

Jurate Senvaitienė, head of the Pranas Gudynas Conservation Centre, said that none of the artworks were recovered from the ruins or damaged during the war. Most of them were brought to Lithuania from Western Ukraine, where they were evacuated from the frontline regions. Vilnius also received art from museums in Lviv, Kyiv, Odesa and other cities.

About 100 of Prymachenko's works have already been brought to Lithuania, most of them are already on display in the museum, and 15 of the most damaged works are still on the tables of Pranas Gudynas specialists.

Senvaitienė said that Primachenko's paintings were stored in a museum in Zaporizhzhia, and they were rescued and transported to western Ukraine, and from there to Lithuania.

‘Before that, our restorer had to travel to Western Ukraine to inspect the works, assess their condition and decide whether they could be transported at all. Before that, we didn't have much information about their condition. After examining the works and deciding that they could be transported, the restorer prepared them for shipment,’ she explained.

In October, the Lithuanian National Art Museum and the Jonas Karolis Hodkevicius Support and Charity Foundation launched a campaign to raise funds for the restoration of the artist's works.

The Conservation Centre's specialists usually examine works of art, determine their condition, prepare them for exhibitions and long-term storage, and technologically examine and restore a significant number of them.

‘(1,500 works of art - ed.) is a lot, given that we do not stop the planned work, and everything that is planned must be done, and all obligations to other Lithuanian and foreign museums are fulfilled without delay,’ Senvaitienė said.

As The Gaze previously reported, in October, the Lithuanian National Art Museum in Vilnius hosted an exhibition of Ukrainian artist Maria Prymachenko 'I Give You Sunshine Art'. The paintings were evacuated from the Zaporizhzhia Regional Art Museum.