Jonas Rimša Bolivia, 1934

Sign.: LL: J Rimša

Catalog. book "Return to the Homeland" (compiled by N. Tumėnienė, Vilnius, 2015), p. 218.

Museum author. In Lithuania, works are held by LNDM, NČDM, Tartle.

One of the most prominent Lithuanian diaspora artists, Jonas Rimša (1903-1978), in search of happiness, set off for South America in 1926, where he wandered, gathering impressions and refining his artistic skills. From 1943, invited by the Bolivian government, J. Rimša lived, created, and worked in educational activities in Sucre, later in 1944, he founded a private art school in La Paz. Rimša's extensive creative legacy consists of over 1000 paintings (scattered across the USA, Australia, South America, Europe). Part of his works is now kept in the National Art Museum, the National M. K. Čiurlionis Art Museum in Kaunas. The artist painted figurative compositions, landscapes, portraits, and developed an original watercolor technique. For his merits to Bolivian culture, J. Rimša was awarded the title of honorary citizen of Bolivia (1950). The Bolivian government acquired about 250 of his paintings and handed them over to the most important state institutions.