Otto Grunde (Latvian, 1907 - 1982)

Signed: O. Grunde 1970 (Lower, Right)

" Sunflowers ", 1970

Oil on Canvas

30" x 24"

Housed in a 3" Period Carved Frame

Overall Size: 35 5/8" x 29 3/4"

Otto Grunde is a notable Latvian Exile Artist.

The following information courtesy of hist. Agnija Lesničenoka

(Art Academy of Latvia, Latvia)

The year 1944/45 is inscribed on the pages of Latvia’s history as the time of the second occupation by the USSR, as a result hundreds of thousands of Latvian citizens left Latvia as refugees. Since the 1945 the development of contemporary Latvian

art was tragically divided between the occupied native land and the free world. The period in exile from 1945 to 1952 can be called the “restoration period”, or the period of preservation of Latvian national values and art, when the continuation of the form of artistic expression during the period of Latvia’s independence took place in refugee camps in Germany. The issue of national art became more problematic after 1952, when the exile lasted and Latvian artists were scattered on several continents of the world, the question of the fate of the expression of Latvian national art became more topical.

In November 1958, with an art exhibition in New York (USA), the Art Academy of Latvia student fraternity “Dzintarzeme” (“Amberland”), which was banned in July 1940 by the USSR, was renewed. There is reason to assume that “Dzintarzeme” can be called as one of the most purposeful associations of Latvian artists in exile in the efforts to preserve and popularize Latvian national art in the USA until 1973.