Lithuania restores over 1,500 art treasures evacuated from Ukraine

Since the start the Russian full-scale war, over 1,500 cultural and artistic treasures have been transported from Ukraine to Lithuania for restoration.

Lrt reported that.

Some notable works include paintings by Maria Prymachenko, and there are also ongoing discussions to relocate 15th-century wooden altars from the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Art in Kyiv.

Head of the Pranas Gudynas Conservation Centre, Juratė Senvaitienė, said that none of the works of art were pulled from the ruins or damaged during the war. Most of them were brought to Lithuania from Western Ukraine, where they were evacuated from front-line regions. Art treasures also arrived in Vilnius from museums in:

• Lviv,
• Kyiv,
• Odesa and other cities.

Around 100 pieces by Prymachenko have been transported to Lithuania, and the majority are already being exhibited in the museum. The remaining 15 pieces, which have sustained the most damage, are currently in the hands of specialist Pranas Gudynas for restoration.

According to Senvaitienė, Prymachenko's paintings were preserved and transferred from a museum in Zaporizhzhia to Western Ukraine, and then on 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 did not have much information about their condition.

Having inspected the works and decided that they could be transported, the restorer prepared them for shipment," Senvaitienė explained.

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

Specialists of the Conservation Center usually:

• examine works of art,
• determine their condition,
• prepare for exhibitions and long-term storage,
• technologically research and restore a significant part of them.

^{Photo: R. Riabovas / BNS}

"[1,500 works of art – ed.] is a lot, considering 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.

For reference:

The Vytautas Kasiulis Art Museum in Vilnius held the opening of "I Give You Sunny Art," a collection of works by Ukrainian artist Maria Prymachenko, in October, 2024. The exhibition will be on display until March 2, 2025 and can be viewed at the Vytauto Kasiulio dailės muziejus on A. Goštauto Street 1 in Vilnius.

This is a large-scale event that symbolizes the connection between the Ukrainian and Lithuanian peoples through art.

It was also reported that in Vilnius, the Museum of Church Heritage (Bažnytinio paveldo muziejus) on November 12, a presentation of a Ukrainian-language audio guide, which has already become the fourth in Lithuania, as well as an information publication of the museum in Ukrainian, took place.

The Lithuanian Embassy in the capital city of Ukraine unveiled a virtual museum showcasing the Tiahyn Fortress. This archaeological site, dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries and situated in the Kherson region, holds great significance for the historical legacies of Ukraine, Lithuania, and Crimea. The museum is now accessible in digital form.