More than 100 forgotten artworks found in Väike-Maarja buildings

A museum director and teacher has uncovered more than 100 forgotten paintings in public buildings in Väike-Maarja, including works by well-known Estonian artists, ERR reported.

Edgar Tammus found paintings in the Väike-Maarja gymnasium’s janitors’ break room and behind a cupboard in a printing room, as well as in the town hall, community centre and museum. Among the artists represented are Malle Leis and Rein Raamat.

Tammus said he began looking more closely at the paintings after spotting in the gymnasium’s janitors’ room a work by Leis that he had also seen displayed prominently at an art museum in Tartu. The painting, titled “Võrumaa XX. Trei people,” had been presented to the school in 1983 for its 100th anniversary.

The discoveries are featured in an exhibition titled “Hidden art gets some fresh air.” It includes reproductions of 17 works, while the originals are on display inside the museum. Some paintings were not shown because their condition was too poor for hanging.

One of the exhibition’s most valuable works may be Evald Okas’s “Pine broken in a storm,” which Tammus found on top of a cupboard at the museum.