The Idea of The House of Art  became a reality largely thanks to the joint efforts of František Jureček (an Ostrava building contractor and art collector) and the gallery’s first director Alois Sprušil.

On 24 January 1923 the Association for the Construction and Maintenance of an Exhibition Pavilion in Moravská Ostrava was formed; the association announced a public competition to design a new building for exhibitions, which would take place of the latest international trends in architecture.

Today, the space of the former Jureček Picture Gallery (exhibition double hall on the 1st floor of the House of Arts) is used for short-term exhibitions and the permanent exhibition is located in three smaller exhibition halls (former directorate, secretariat and artist studio). In the first two halls you will find works of art that belonged to Jureček's original collection. These are paintings, sculptures, graphic works and an archival documents from the period of the birth of the House of Arts.

PRESENT versus PAST
We bring you the reconstruction of two exhibition halls of Jureček's Picture Gallery in a virtual form as they looked in 1926.
We tried to combine several black and white photographs to provide you a panoramic projection.
Most of the works of art in both rooms contain an interactive element that displays the exhibited work in maximum resolution and quality.
Works that do not contain this element have not entered the gallery's collections.
Enjoy a walk through the exhibition halls of the House of Art in 1926.

Virtual tour of the exhibition HERE