The exhibition shows a quarter of the largest international collection of original drawings and paintings for childrens' books, acquired by the City of Český Krumlov from Otakar Božejovský of Rawennoff, renowned publisher and recipient of the Golden Venetian Lion for cultural merit.
Božejovský co-founded the Swiss publishing house Bohem Press and made it, together with the illustrator Štěpán Zavřel, to one of the most distinguished children’s book publishing houses in the world. Some 300 titles have been translated into 60 languages and published internationally, winning various prestigious awards across the globe.
This vast collection comprises hundreds of originals by 30 artists from 16 countries. The calibre of these works is attested by the fact that parts of the collection have been exhibited in prominent museums and galleries around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Pompidou Centre in Paris, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Madrid and the Itabashi Ward Museum of Arts in Tokyo.
The current exhibition features:
Vlasta Baránková / CZ
Eric Battut / FR
Anatoli Bourykine / RU, AT
Gianni de Conno / IT
Jindra Čapek / CZ, DE
Stasys Eidrigevicius / LT, PL
Sita Jucker / CH
Svjetlan Junaković / HR
Jan Lenica / PL, FR
Arcadio Lobato / ES
Giovanni Manna / IT
David McKee / GB, FR
Fionna Moodie / ZA
Ľuboslav Paľo / SK
Marie-José Sacré / BE
Hanspeter Schmid / CH
Eugen Sopko / SK, DE
Ralph Steadman / GB
Emilio Urberuaga / ES
Józef Wilkoń / PL
Linda Wolfsgruber / IT, AT
Štěpán Zavřel / CZ, IT