Latvian National Museum of Art
The largest collection of Latvian and Baltic art, in a purpose-built 1905 museum near the Esplanade.
The museum stands on the edge of the Esplanade park in a building raised between 1903 and 1905 to designs by Wilhelm Neumann, who also became its first director. It was the first structure in the Baltic provinces built specifically as an art museum, and its baroque-influenced facade, sculptural decoration and top-lit galleries were planned around the display of paintings. The institution has carried several names through the twentieth century and took its present title after Latvia regained independence.
Holdings run to tens of thousands of works and form the principal record of Latvian and Baltic art from the middle of the eighteenth century onwards, alongside Russian and Western European material. Permanent displays trace Latvian painting, graphic art and sculpture from the national awakening through the twentieth century. A reconstruction completed in 2016 excavated a new underground floor for temporary exhibitions and services while leaving the historic rooms intact. The museum also runs four further branches across Riga.
Highlights
- First purpose-built art museum in the Baltic provinces, opened 1905
- Permanent survey of Latvian art from the 18th century onwards
- Underground exhibition floor added in the 2013–2016 reconstruction
- Cupola Hall used for contemporary projects and installations
