Graphic art collection

The graphic art collection includes individual works of graphic art, caricatures, bookplates, book illustrations and graphic design from the 17th century to the present day. The most represented types of graphic art are various drawing techniques, lithographs and engravings.

The 17th–19th-century works of graphic art depicting battles, towns and cities, Latvian manors, as well as portraits of rulers and nobility bear vital testimony of Latvian history.

Collection highlights are the two albums of 1830s drawings and watercolours by Helen von der Brüggen, the mid-19th-century album with portraits of over 200 members of the Ēvele parish drawn by Pastor Anton Georg Bosse, and the architect Wilhelm Neumann’s drawings and technical drawings made for the restoration of the Riga Cathedral.

Notable among the works from the first half of the 20th century are the textile design sketches by Jūlijs Straume, while the illustrations of fairy tales drawn by Eduards Brencēns are noteworthy graphic art book illustrations.

The collection of bookplates of Latvian Army General Verners Tepfers is numerous and ample.

The album with design sketches for the Order of Lāčplēsis is a striking illustration of the creation of the new Latvian state. It includes designs by Ansis Cīrulis, Konrāds Ubāns, Jēkabs Kazaks, Valdemārs Tone and other artists. The era is also captured in the 1920s and 1930s political cartoons by artists such as Aleksandra Beļcova, Ludolfs Liberts, Niklāvs Strunke, Sigismunds Vidbergs etc.

More than 400 frontline drawings by Red Army soldiers provide an insight into the events of World War II.

Curator of the collection Anete Ulmane

In order to research the museum’s collection in person, those interested are invited to fill out the contact form, indicating the topic of interest and the chronology. After receiving the form, a museum specialist will contact you.