Art collector Meda Mládková turns 100

The Czech cultural scene is celebrating the 100th birthday of art collector and philanthropist Meda Mládková.

Mládková spent more than half of her life in exile, mostly in the United States. In 1968 she and her husband Jan established a collection of Czech and Central European art which she brought to the US from behind the Iron Curtain.

After the Velvet Revolution in 1989, Meda Mládková returned to Czechoslovakia and donated her entire collection to the country. In 1999 she started a foundation which acquired Sovovy Mlýny, a historic building a few hundred meters from Charles Bridge in Prague, and transformed the building into a thriving art museum.

The celebrations of her 100th birthday started in June with the premiere of a film about her life and the public can now view an exhibition called Ambassador of Art showing her personal belongings and memorabilia from her home in Washington, which was a frequent meeting place of politicians, intellectuals and artists.