Vladas Eidukevičius (1891–1941) spent his youth in Riga, and later moved to Kaunas. But the temporary capital of Lithuania was stifling for the young artist who had been used to a big city. He missed sunshine and good art most of all. He could find these on his journeys around Europe, usually in the south. But Kaunas kept attracting him back. Each time he returned, he had to raise money to escape from the city again. According to his contemporaries, Eidukevičius was an eccentric, cut off from life, but he always managed to find patrons. He even had regular patrons, including Stasys Šilingas, a lawyer and politician. Jokes circulated about his unsolicited portraits which he foisted off on to the people he portrayed, but his still-lifes were always in great demand. His pictures of flowers painted in various sizes and in various styles can be found in private collections, and some have been acquired by museums. A picture of an almost identical composition to the one in the Ellex Valiunas collection is held in the gold fund of the M.K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art (inventory number Mt-4680). The dimensions are also similar to the one in the Ellex Valiunas collection (51×63 cm).
Text author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė
Source: Law firm Valiunas Ellex art album
OBJECTS ON SHOW (2017). Compiler and author Giedrė Jankevičiūtė
Expositions: "The Nomad Artist",
18 Feburary –
17 April
2016, Vilnius Picture Gallery, Vilnius. Curator - Rima Rutkauskienė. "A Glance at the History of Lithuanian Art from Užupis",
30 August 20
18 –
1 June 20
19, Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St.
40, Vilnius). Curator Giedrė Jankevičiūtė.