The History of the Kars Museum

The History of the Georges Kars Museum in Kralupy nad Vltavou

The prominent artist Georges Kars, a native of Kralupy nad Vltavou, expressed a lifelong wish to have his works exhibited in Kralupy nad Vltavou. During his visits to his hometown between the two world wars, he established a close relationship with the staff of the local regional museum, actively supported their initiatives, and engaged in discussions about plans to establish a gallery in Kralupy nad Vltavou, where he intended to donate all his works. Tragically, his life was cut short at the end of World War II, bringing these plans to an abrupt halt. After his passing and the conclusion of the war, Georges Kars's wife, Nora Kars, returned from exile in France to Czechoslovakia in search of the paintings Kars family had been forced to leave behind during their hurried escape from the Nazis in 1939. The collection, which included around 300 works by Kars and his French contemporaries (including Picasso, Utrillo, Pascin, Valadon, Chagall, Derain, and others), had been confiscated by the Nazis after their occupation of Bohemia and sold through art dealers. While most works by French artists were sold, Kars’s Jewish heritage limited demand for his paintings at that time. As a result, many of his pieces were stored in a Prague warehouse, where they largely remained intact. After the war, these paintings were officially seized as disputed Jewish property and placed under the care of a national custodian until a rightful owner could be identified. However, when Nora Kars began searching for the collection, it was discovered that the custodian had fled the country, and the paintings had disappeared. Nora Kars returned to France empty-handed, but she left instructions that, should the paintings ever be recovered, they should be donated to the town of Kralupy nad Vltavou, as her husband had wished. The paintings were eventually found in a crate and handed over to the town of Kralupy nad Vltavou. However, by this time, in 1949, the communist authorities were reluctant to engage with the legacy of a Jewish painter. As a result, the paintings were stored in the depository of the Regional Museum at Nelahozeves Castle. In the 1950s, the artworks were exhibited in a newly established gallery in Velvary, situated within the town hall building, officially designated as the District Gallery of the Kralupy Region. However, after the dissolution of the Kralupy district, the museum in Velvary fell under the jurisdiction of Kladno District Museum, severing Kralupy’s ties to the collection. Eventually, the works were transferred back to the administration of the Municipal Museum in Velvary. After the revolution in 1990s, Kralupy nad Vltavou attempted to regain ownership of the collection, but the effort failed due to the loss of documentation, including Nora Kars’s directive. Today, the surviving works from Georges Kars's collection are housed in the Municipal Museum in Velvary. The town of Kralupy nad Vltavou can now only borrow the works for exhibitions in collaboration with the town of Velvary.

In 2016, Kralupy nad Vltavou initiated the redevelopment of a part of the former Kars family steam mill, the birthplace of Georges Kars, into a residential building. This redevelopment also inspired the idea of establishing a gallery and museum dedicated to Georges Kars on the ground floor of the building. This would symbolically return the painter and his works to his birthplace, fulfilling his lifelong wish to have a gallery dedicated to exhibiting his works in his hometown. In 2021, a 230 m² space on the ground floor of the building was purchased by the company Montako, and construction of the Georges Kars Gallery and Museum began. Meanwhile, the town council approved the creation of a new square between the two former Kars Mill buildings, now transformed into a Technopark of the University of Chemical Technology and residential building. The square was named Georges Kars Square. The approval of the museum space took place in 2024 and the installation of Kars’s works is currently underway. The aim of revitalizing the gallery and museum space is, in addition to exhibiting the museum’s own collection of Georges Kar’s works, to host regular exhibitions for contemporary artists and painters in part of the gallery. The Georges Kars Museum in Kralupy nad Vltavou is expected to open in early 2025.