MUD* manages a collection of fine and applied arts. The initial collection in 1990 was assembled from several transfers, dominated by a set of Czech paintings from the second half of the 20th century from the Czech Museum of Fine Arts. The collection soon began to be supplemented with additional sets of graphics, drawings, photography, graphic design, sculpture, and design production. The museum collection is primarily oriented toward the work of Czech artists and designers from the second half of the 20th century to the present, with an emphasis on regional art. To a lesser extent, it also includes works from older epochs or works by foreign authors.

The graphic design collection focuses primarily on Czech and Czechoslovak poster and book design from the second half of the 20th century, and on mapping original logotypes and visual identities (created predominantly between 1990–1995). This is a systematically built collection that captures the dynamic period of graphic design transformations in our territory, and interestingly reflects the rapid development of the business environment, institutions, and cultural initiatives in the period after November 1989.

The collection transcends a purely documentary framework and has its own artistic and research value, particularly for scholars in the field of visual communication.

The design subcollection maps the development of Czech and Slovak applied design from the early 20th century to the present. It focuses primarily on the realm of everyday life – represented products include seating furniture, kitchenware, lighting fixtures, radios, telephones, cameras, toys, home accessories, and typewriters.

The collection of prints maps the development of Czech graphic art from the beginning of the 20th century to the present, with emphasis on artists working primarily in Bohemia. Represented are works by distinctive personalities such as Adolf Born, Zdeněk Sýkora, Ivana Lomová, Adriena Šimotová, Milan Grygar, Václav Boštík, Pavel Brázda, Jaromír 99, and Jiří Sozanský. Among regional artists, the collection includes, for example, Jan Hejtmánek.

An important place in the collection is also occupied by the work of Swiss graphic artist Silvia Billeter, through the representative collection „Searching for Petrkov.“

The collection of photography traces the development of the medium from the daguerreotype to the present day. It includes both historical techniques and contemporary approaches, encompassing a wide range of subjects. Featured are works by major figures of Czech and Slovak photography, such as Dagmar Hochová, Bohdan Holomíček, Ján Šmok, Magdaléna Robinsonová, Eva Fuková, Vladimír Birgus, Dana Bleyová, and Jan Durina, as well as the American photographer Cindy Sherman. The collection reflects not only the technological evolution of photography, but also its shifts within artistic and social contexts.

A significant part of the MUD Benešov collection consists of a gift from art historian and former director of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, Jiří Šetlík. It contains an extensive collection of New Year's cards and graphic prints that he acquired over the years from a wide circle of artists, scientists, and theater actors.

The collection of paintings includes predominantly works by regional artists. Significantly represented here are works by Ladislav Šíma, Václav Pavlík, František Holoubek, and Vladimír Antušek. The collection is further enriched by works of artists connected with the Czechoslovak and Czech art scene of the 1980s and 1990s. Among the represented artists are, for example, Michael Rittstein, Jiří David, Ivana Lomová, Josef Císařovský, Marie Blabolilová, and Jiří Černický.

The collection of drawings includes works by Czech and Slovak artists from the beginning of the 20th century to the present. Represented are names such as Adriena Šimotová, Ivan Ouhel, Jiří Anderle, Daisy Mrázková, Dalibor Chatrný, and Veronika Bromová.

Among artists connected with Benešov, the collection includes Vladimír Antušek, Václav Pavlík, Ladislav Šíma, and Vladimír Cidlinský.

The collection of sculptures focuses on work from the second half of the 20th century to the present. Its core consists of plaster casts by Jiří Vodrážka. The collection further includes works by leading Czech sculptors, among whom are Jan Štursa, Miloslav Chlupáč, Karel Nepraš, Olbram Zoubek, Čestmír Suška, or Věra Janoušková.

The collection of architecture focuses on documenting the architectural development of the Benešov region from the end of the 19th century to the present. The collection contains predominantly documentary materials with artistic overlap that capture the urban transformation of the region and its architectural heritage.

PRESS RELEASE, 6 May 2024

The long-term effort to make the collections of the Museum of Art and Design Benešov (MUD*) accessible has culminated in the launch of an online catalog, which currently contains 625 works from nearly 14,000 collection items. It features both prominent Czech names and regional artists.
The MUD* collections focus on visual art and comprise sub-collections of paintings, drawings, prints, photography, multimedia, sculpture, design, graphic design, and architecture. Special attention is paid to regional art from the Benešov area, represented by artists such as Vladimír Cidlinský, Ladislav Šíma, Václav Pavlík, and Vladimír Antušek.