n the collections of old masters individual works represent the main artistic centres from the 15th till the end of the 18th century, with a predominance of Italian painting and some outstanding examples of Rudolphine Mannerism. The core of the collection of 19th century Czech art were 120 works of art - chiefly drawings and graphic art - donated by the Ostrava building contractor Frantisek Jurecek, who was one of the people responsible for the building of the House of the Arts. The collection was gradually expanded. Today it is one of the largest in the Czech Republic, with occasional examples of sculpture.
In the collection of Czech 20th century art are works by leading personalities of modern Czech artfrom precursors and pioneers of modern art to contemporary artists. Several artists are represented by large collections, e. g. M. Jiranek, A. Prochazka, V. Spala, J. Zrzavy, E. Filla, E. Ovcacek. The painting are accompanied by works representating the development of modern Czech sculpture and a very rich collection of drawings and graphic art.
The part devoted to art from the Ostrava region includes the artist, who have either lived or worked in northern Moravia since the 1910s to this day, e. g. F. Dusa, H. Salichova, A. Handzel, B. Dvorsky, J. Kapec, A. Kroca.
In addition to Czech painting, the Gallery has works from other countries. A dominant feature of the collections of Spanish painters are several works by O. Dominquez. Russian Realist painting is represented e. g. by M. V. Nesterov, V. J. Makovski, I. I. Shishkin, I. E. Repin, F. A. Maliavin, K. A. Korovin, etc. Two unique paintings dominate the collection of Austrian and German artKlimt's Judith and Kokoschka's Istanbul. The Gallery owns works by E. Orlik, O. Laske, A. Faistauer, A. Egger-Lienz, C. Unger, E. Kahler, M. Pechstein, M. Liebermann, W. Hablik and A. Kolig.
The paintings are supplemented by drawings and graphic art, including relatively comprehensive sets, often exhibited separately, e. g. Old Italian, Dutch and Flemish graphic art, Honore Daumier's lithographs. The Gallery has fairly large sets of graphic art by the Czech painters M. Jiranek, M. Svabinsky and F. Tichy, as well as comprehensive collections of regional graphic art and a remarkable collection of Slovak graphic art.
