Zachęta National Gallery of Art
The Zachęta National Gallery of Art (Polish: Zachęta Narodowa Galeria Sztuki) is a contemporary art museum in the center of Warsaw, Poland. The Gallery's chief purpose is to present and support Polish contemporary art and artists. With numerous temporary exhibitions of well-known foreign artists, the gallery has also established itself internationally. The word "zachęta" means encouragement. The Zachęta Gallery takes its name from Towarzystwo Zachęty do Sztuk Pięknych (Society for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts), founded in Warsaw in 1860. History Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts Before 1860 there were neither public museums nor libraries nor other generally accessible institutions that allowed for exchange between artists. The repression that resulted from the November Uprising, made higher artistic education virtually impossible. The last major exhibition took place in 1845. After protests by artists during the 1850s, the Wystawa Krajowa Sztuk Pięknych (National Exhibition of Fine Arts) was approved in 1858, and lead to negotiations with Russian rulers who in the end permitted the foundation of the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in 1860. The Society's statutes were set by artists and art experts. The first official meeting and the election of a board of directors took