A purpose-built 1905 art museum in Riga, the Latvian National Museum of Art brings together historic galleries, Latvian art and a modern underground extension. Its collection traces changing ideas of art and identity across the region.
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The building itself is part of the collection’s story. Above the grand staircase of the Latvian National Museum of Art are landscapes painted by Vilhelms Purvītis and Gerhard von Rosen; outside, a sculptural group by Augusts Folcs crowns the façade. Opened in 1905, the museum was the first building in the Baltic states designed specifically for an art museum. It was also a place where the idea of what deserved to be collected would change dramatically.
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- The museum building opened in 1905 and was designed by its first director, Wilhelm Neumann.
- Painter Vilhelms Purvītis directed the museum and expanded its Latvian art collection.
- The modern extension places galleries, storage and conservation spaces beneath the Esplanade side.
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