Private art collector Benko Horvat (1875-1955) from Zagreb donated his collection to the city in 1946 and it has been managed by the Museum of Contemporary Art ever since. 

The collection includes 611 items, most of them archaeological finds (metal objects, glass, gemmas, and small ancient sculpture), while a minor section contains paintings and graphic art dating back to the 15th-18th centuries.

The collection is presently closed to the public, but once the Museum has moved to the new building from its current location at St Catherine Square and Habdelićeva Street, it will be possible to make it generally accessible at either of the two addresses.

Benko Horvat was born in Vinkovci in 1875. He studied law in Vienna and attended the Trade Academy in Graz. At the same time, he took lectures in art history and became associated with the renowned coin collectors of the period. From 1907-1921, he mostly lived in Trieste, after which he moved to Zagreb. Although employed as a bank clerk, he was actively involved in various cultural activities. He launched and edited the Numismatics journal, and was also the founder and president of the Yugoslav Numismatic Society, as well as the secretary of the Friends of the Strossmayer Gallery Association. In 1946, his collection was opened to public, at first in the framework of Zagreb Municipal Galleries and then as a part of Museum of Contemporary Art. Benko Horvat died on 28 February, 1955.

Contacts:

Collection manager: Martina Munivrana, senior curator: martina.munivrana@msu.hr