Bohuslav Mikenda (1860-1928)

He was born on 24 August 1860 in Jičín. In 1890-1924 he taught Latin, Greek and German at the gymnasium in Příbram. He was a collector and patron of the arts, a member of support societies for students and the founder of his own student foundation. He founded a gallery in his house in Fibichova Street, which he bequeathed to the town of Příbram. The town had no other picture gallery. At the end of the 1940s the gallery was opened to the public. However, the Local National Committee Council closed it down in 1950 and a children's nursery was placed in Mikenda's villa.

Mikend's collection included not only mediocre works, but also works by leading Czech artists, such as Ludvík Kuba, František Kaván, Antonín Hudeček, and the Adam and Eve sculpture by Václav Levy. The collection was then dispersed to various places, for example, forty works were taken to the castle in Zalužany, from where they were returned after 1989. Bohuslav Mikenda died in Příbram on 17 June 1928.

The author of the portrait of B. Mikenda is Karel Beneš.

Source: Příbram and Fine Arts. Vlastivědný sborník Podbrdsko I/1966, p. 189. Fond ONV Příbram, Department of Culture, 1992.

Prepared by: PhDr. Věra Smolová, Director of SOA Příbram