The Lithuanian National Museum (LNM) is committed to preserving the creative legacy of stained-glass master Kazys Morkūnas (1925–2014). In 2024, the LNM collections were supplemented with a set of K. Morkūnas’s drawings that were in poor physical condition. The museum is currently organizing their restoration, which is taking place at the Pranas Gudynas Restoration Centre.

Preserving K. Morkūnas’s Creative Work

In 2024, the Lithuanian National Museum’s Architecture and Design Projects Collection was enriched by a collection of stained-glass projects by Kazys Morkūnas—one of Lithuania’s most renowned and distinguished stained-glass artists. The collection consists of stained-glass designs for thirteen different sites—some individual, others composed of separate parts—amounting to a total of seventy-seven rolls.

In 2025, marking the 100th anniversary of K. Morkūnas’s birth, the restoration of his artistic legacy began in a symbolic and meaningful way. This has been made possible by project funding allocated at the beginning of the year by the Ministry of Culture. Through the restoration of Morkūnas’s works, new opportunities are gradually being opened for future research, exhibitions, and publications. The restored works will also be prepared for long-term preservation.

Urgent Assistance for Museum Assets

To ensure that Morkūnas’s works are preserved, specialists from the LNM and the Lithuanian National Museum of Art (LNDM) have joined forces, with the work taking place at the LNDM Pranas Gudynas Restoration Centre. The project is led by Eglė Odinienė, head of the LNM Restoration Centre.

Odinienė expresses gratitude for the inter-institutional cooperation essential to carrying out the work:
“ This exceptional collection was transferred to the museum in poor condition, and our restoration workshops lacked the technical and human resources to restore it. The works were delivered to the LNM rolled into large-scale rolls, ranging from three to nearly six meters in length. We are very pleased with the urgent assistance provided for these museum valuables and with the professional collaboration with our colleagues at the LNDM—restorers of works of art on paper.”

The Pranas Gudynas Restoration Centre is currently restoring the set of stained-glass designs for the Cathedral of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Vilkaviškis. The set, created between 1996 and 2004, comprises seventeen of K. Morkūnas’s works on paper.