Four previously unseen paintings by Vilhelms Purvītis and stories about the search for the artist’s legacy around the world. On October 22, a charity evening was held at the Ola Foundation cultural venue to help preserve the Purvītis family home, “Vecjauži”, in Zaube and restore the roof of the museum building.
There are evenings when art does not stay on the walls, music does not end with the last note, and a gathering becomes a shared commitment. The charity evening “Chip In for Purvītis’s Hat!” was just such an occasion, bringing together musicians, art curators, cultural figures and friends of Purvītis’s legacy at the Ola Foundation cultural venue. The goal of the evening was very concrete: to help give Vilhelms Purvītis’s family home, “Vecjauži”, a new roof so that it can continue to be a place to study, preserve and create Latvian art history.
The special atmosphere of the evening was created by Renārs Kaupers, Kaspars Zemītis, Andis Klučnieks and Goran Gora, who performed instrumental music selected for the concert and inspired by Vilhelms Purvītis’s paintings. In this way, Purvītis’s painting became the starting point for a musical conversation in which landscapes turned into sounds.
Goran Gora: “In my opinion, visual art and music have always gone well together. When you listen to music, paintings also take on a new meaning, and that was the purpose of this concert - to musically ‘dress’ paintings by Purvītis that have rarely been seen in Latvia until now.”
Guests at the evening had a special opportunity to see four paintings by Vilhelms Purvītis that had never before been shown to the public. These works offered a renewed connection with the artist’s oeuvre and reminded us how much there is still to discover by researching and searching for Purvītis’s legacy around the world.
Žanete Grende, director of the Purvītis Museum, shared stories about the paintings, their journeys and adventures, as well as discoveries made while establishing the museum in the artist’s family home, “Vecjauži”, in Zaube.
“This is a special exhibition - for the first time, the Purvītis Museum is showing original works by Vilhelms Purvītis that we have found while searching the world for the artist’s legacy. Behind every painting is not only art, but also a surprising story of people and Latvian history. Our research project ‘Finding Purvītis’ shows how much we still don’t know about our outstanding artist and how important it is to keep searching. But for these stories to have a home, we first need to preserve Purvītis’s family home, ‘Vecjauži’. That is why, with this exhibition, we want not only to share our discoveries, but also to invite the public to help give the museum a new roof. Because art needs not only an audience, but also a roof over its head.”, said Žanete Grende, director of the Purvītis Museum.
From a donation to an accredited museum
The story of “Vecjauži” began long before that evening. In 1995, the family home of Wilhelm Purvītis was purchased by Margrieta Lestrādene, a Dutch citizen. For the next 25 years, she cared for the property, protecting the house from falling into disrepair and maintaining the extensive farm of approximately 80 hectares. Her vision was to create a museum there honoring one of Latvia’s greatest painters.
After visiting the Imants Ziedonis Museum in Murjāņi and learning about the work of the Viegli Foundation, Lestrādene decided to entrust the future of her family home to people who had already proved they could create a contemporary museum and bring cultural heritage to life. The foundation team, in turn, had to consider whether it could take on the long-term responsibility of another major cultural project.
The decision was about more than a building and land. It raised the question of how Latvia can tell the stories of its outstanding people and preserve places that help us understand their personalities and the beginnings of their creative journeys. Wilhelm Purvītis’s childhood and teenage years at “Vecjauži” are an essential part of his life story. It was here that the landscape world took shape, a world that would later become the foundation of his art.
On March 3, 2022, Wilhelm Purvītis’s 150th birthday, the Viegli Foundation announced plans to create a Purvītis museum at his family home. Work began to restore the grounds, conduct research, and develop the museum’s content. The open-air exhibition “Seven Wise Men” opened to visitors, offering an introduction to Purvītis through the people who influenced his life and shaped his personality. The museum continued to take shape, with its collection, research, and visitor experience gradually developing. In 2026, the “Purvītis Museum” is a private, state-accredited museum.
It is a story about passing a baton from one person to another, about trust, and about cultural heritage preserved not in the abstract, but through the work, time, and resources of very real people.
Searching for paintings also uncovers history
The “Purvītis Museum” is not just a place to remember the artist. It is also a research center where Wilhelm Purvītis’s paintings scattered around the world are sought out and documented, including works that disappeared during the Second World War and the postwar period.
This work is like a cultural-history detective story. The museum team studies archives and documents, contacts private collection owners, and goes on expeditions to establish the origins of paintings and trace their journeys. Each discovery may reveal not only another work by Purvītis, but also a forgotten person, event, or thread of Latvian history.
The museum’s collection and research continue to grow. At the same time, a place is being created at “Vecjauži” where visitors can encounter not only Purvītis’s paintings, but also his era, surroundings, and the ideas that helped shape the history of Latvian art.
Why does Purvītis need a new hat?
The powerful summer storm once again confirmed what the museum team already knew: the roof of “Vecjauži” has reached the end of its service life, and replacing it can no longer be postponed. Although the storm caused no significant damage to the building, holes appeared in the shingle roofing, while the uninsulated roof structure makes it difficult to maintain the required temperature and humidity conditions indoors. This complicates the storage of the museum collection and threatens the possibility of making full use of the building in the future.
Building a new roof is not just a matter of the building’s exterior appearance. It is part of the necessary preservation work that will allow the museum to continue operating in the historic house and ensure suitable conditions for the collection.
The roof renovation is planned in stages. The first stage includes removing the old roofing, installing a new wooden shingle roof, building two new dormers, and renovating the veranda. The cost of this stage is 93,469 euros. The second stage, planned for spring 2027, involves insulating the roof and will cost 54,455 euros. The total cost of the work is 147,924 euros.
The museum team cannot do this work alone. That is why “Chip in for Purvītis’s hat!” is an invitation to everyone who cares about Latvia’s artistic and cultural heritage.
People in the arts care for one another
The charity evening at the cultural venue “Ola Foundation” also showed how important solidarity among cultural professionals is. The gallery, whose core values include supporting the arts, became a place where music, painting, and the museum’s story came together for a common cause.
It is essential that art curators and cultural venue creators care not only for their own projects, but also for what others have created and what needs preserving. Cultural heritage is not the responsibility of one museum, one team, or one donor. It is a shared effort in which everyone’s involvement can help the story continue.
Thank you to the cultural venue “Ola Foundation” for a wonderful evening and for supporting the arts, to Renārs Kaupers and Goran Gora for the music, to Žanete Grende for the stories, and to all the guests and supporters who were part of this gathering.
Purvītis’s unseen paintings will be on view at the cultural venue Ola Foundation from 22.10.-22.12.
Art needs a roof over its head.
Vilhelms Purvītis is a shared source of pride, an integral part of Latvia’s landscape and art history. By preserving his family home, we preserve a place where this story can continue and meet future generations.
We invite you to chip in for Purvītis’s hat and help “Vecjauži” get a new roof.
For donations: https://ej.uz/piemetpurvitim
The Purvītis Museum has public benefit organization status. Donors can take advantage of tax relief provided by law.
Let’s get under one roof!
More information: Una Rozenbauma, una.rozenbauma@gmail.com +37128744682
Author: Una Rozenbauma
