Jonas Rimša | Cornfields in Tahiti, c. 1967 | Oil on canvas, 93x84 (105x96)

Painting from Jonas Rimša's Tahitian period.

One of the most prominent Lithuanian expatriate artists, Jonas Rimša (1903-1978), seeking happiness, embarked on a journey to South America in 1926, after which he wandered, gathering impressions and refining his artistic creativity. From 1943, invited by the Bolivian government, J. Rimša lived, created, and worked in the city of Sucre, and later in 1944, he founded a private art school in La Paz. Rimša's vast creative legacy consists of over 1000 paintings (scattered throughout the USA, Australia, South America, and Europe). Part of his works is now preserved in the National Art Museum, and the M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art in Kaunas. The artist painted figurative compositions, landscapes, portraits, and developed an original watercolor technique. For his contributions to Bolivian culture, J. Rimša was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of Bolivia in 1950. The Bolivian government acquired about 250 of his paintings and donated them to the most important state institutions.