Lithuanian Art Society (original) (raw)

The Lithuanian Art Society (Lithuanian: Lietuvių dailės draugija) was a society that organized Lithuanian art exhibitions and supported Lithuanian artists. Based in Vilnius (then part of the Russian Empire), it was active from 1907 to the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It was chaired by painter Antanas Žmuidzinavičius. The society was established after the first Lithuanian art exhibition was successfully organized in early 1907. The society continued to organize annual exhibitions that displayed works both by professional and folk artists. Influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, the society paid great attention to Lithuanian folk art which was increasingly seen as an expression of the Lithuanian character. In 1912, the society published an album of drawings of Lithuanian crosses, col