By Muhammad Sohail
Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Lipavský received a valuable part of the estate of former Foreign Minister Jan Masaryk at the Černín Palace on Thursday, July 17, 2025. The collection of artworks, which has not only cultural but also historical value, was donated to the ministry by Mrs. Alenka Soukup, daughter of Masaryk’s former secretary, Dr. Lumír Soukup.
The gift includes a diverse collection of objects that were kept in exile for decades. ” Today we present the art collection that originally decorated Jan Masaryk’s London apartment and that Lumír Soukup saved with his own money in 1949 at auction. I would therefore like to thank Mrs. Alena Soukupová, Lumír Soukup’s daughter, for this extraordinary gift to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I would also like to thank the Embassy of France in Prague and everyone who participated in saving the gift and transporting it to the Czech Republic, ” said Minister Jan Lipavský before taking over the artworks.
Dr. Lumír Soukup (1915–1991) worked in the Czechoslovak exile in London during World War II and became the chief secretary to Minister Masaryk in 1946. After the February coup in 1948, he went into dramatic exile, where he was instrumental in preserving many valuable documents and objects related to the Czechoslovak resistance and Masaryk’s legacy. He later headed the Department of Bohemian Studies at the University of Glasgow and actively supported the preservation of Czech culture abroad.
The current gift includes, among others, the watercolor “Bouquet in a Vase” by Oskar Kokoschka, given to Masaryk in 1938 as an expression of gratitude for his help with emigration, graphic prints by Václav Hollar, the bronze sculpture “Treasures of Heaven and Earth” by Jan Štursa, and the painting “Skylight in Winter” by Herbert Masaryk. There is also an etching depicting the arrival of TG Masaryk in Prague on October 28, 1918, and historical maps of Bohemia and Moravia.
The donated objects form a representative cross-section of Czech art and testify to the values that Jan Masaryk espoused as a diplomat and a person. They become a worthy part of the collection of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and at the same time a valuable testimony to the Czech cultural and diplomatic legacy in the 20th century
