The gallery is a professional institution that, since 1953 in the spa setting of Karlovy Vary and its region, preserves, enriches, and presents Czech 20th-century art in permanent exhibitions, temporary shows, publications, and cultural-educational programs.

Over the course of its existence, the gallery has assembled an extensive collection of Czech art, with the most important and valuable works permanently displayed in a selection of about one hundred and fifty paintings and sculptures. 

The beginnings of modern visual art are illustrated by the atmospheric, symbolist, and realist works of Jakub Schikaneder, Jan Preisler, and Antonín Slavíček.

The changing and striking character of early-century artistic efforts—drawing on European movements such as Expressionism, Fauvism, and Cubism—is reflected in the paintings of Josef Čapek, Emil Filla, Bohumil Kubišta, František Muzika, Antonín Procházka, and Václav Špála. In the 1930s this was followed by a Surrealist expression, evident in the works of Jindřich Štyrský, Toyen, and František Janoušek.

Complete history: https://www.galeriekvary.cz/historie-galerie-umeni/