Jan C. Vondrous (24. 1. 1884 in Chotusice near Caslav - 28. 6. 1970 in Prague) graphic artist and painter

Jan Charles Vondrous went with his mother to America. Studied under prof. F. Jones, E. M. Ward, G. W. Maynard in New York and prof. J. D. Smillie at the etch school of the Academy of Arts in New York from 1893 to 1904. He devoted himself to applied and free graphics, mainly with landscape motifs, but also the events around him. Of the graphic techniques he liked the etching, which for the rest of his life perfected and achieved considerable success. After studying, he and other artists settled in the fishing village of Provincetown on the east coast of the United States and threw himself into the art. Vondrous fascinated by the sea and drew his ideas from harbors and coastal settlements. For financial reasons he soon had to switch to commercial creation. Drawn for the New York Times, New York Herald, made advertising drawings and illustrations. In 1910, Jan Vondrous went to his native Bohemia. He believed that he would draw new ideas in Prague and including his native region - Caslav, Kutna Hora, etc. of postage stamps. He often participated in exhibitions, especially Hollar, of which he was a member. In 1948, the Hollar Association organized a large retrospective exhibition. Jan C. Vondrous continued his work in the 1950s and 1960s. He attended exhibitions of the Chicago Society of Etchers in Chicago, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Toronto and elsewhere. He exhibited regularly at the member exhibitions of the MANES Association of Fine Artists, the Association of Czech Graphic Artists Hollar, whose chairman was from 1943 to 1945. Represented in the collections of the National Gallery and Gallery of the City of Prague in Prague, National Gallery and Library of Congress in Washington, The Albert Museum in London, the British Museum in London, the Municipal Library of New York, the Art Institute in Chicago and elsewhere. His works can be found in many Czech and foreign galleries and collectors. His work was last exhibited by the Felix Jenewein Gallery in Kutna Hora at the end of 2012. In 1913, the curator and gallery chief Ales Rezler published a comprehensive catalog on the life and work of this forgotten artist who was one of the leading Czech graphic artists with international reach.