The book by art historian Ginta Gerharde-Upeniece is dedicated to the art life of the Republic of Latvia in the inter-war period (1918–1940).
“It gives an insight into the time when the culture policy, how we understand it today, did not exist, but the criteria that were defined back then made the foundation on which the creative inspiration helped the nation to reach its maturity
Ginta Gerharde-Upeniece
The book consists of two parts, each of them dealing with a separate period in the history of Latvia – the democratic (1918–1934) and the authoritarian (1934–1940). The book contains rich documental material – photographs, copies of documents as well as reproductions of works of art. A special spread shows ceiling pieces of the Festive Hall of the Riga Castle. The book has a supplement comprising copies of significant documents relating to proclamation of the Republic of Latvia, Ministry of Education of the Republic of Latvia, Culture Foundation, Art Academy of Latvia, State Museum of Art, state commissions and foreign culture policy.
Ginta Gerharde-Upeniece is art historian, head of the Latvian Visual Arts Department at the Latvian National Museum of Art. Major exhibition projects: Mark Rothko’s centennial exhibition; coordination of exhibitions within the frame of French-Latvian Festival “Surprising Latvia” and “French Spring 2007”; curator of the project “1914” as part of the Riga European Capital of Culture 2014 programme.