Jaroslav Votruba was born on 10th April 1889 in Praha-Uhříněves, and died on 21st July 1971 in Kežmarok. In 1908-1912 Votruba studied at the School of Applied Arts in Prague (professors Schikaneder and Priesler). Later he worked as a teacher of drawing in Olomouc, Brno and Prostějov and after 1919 at the state secondary school in Bratislava. After having suffered a work-related accident, Votruba became disabled and began to paint and organize events full-time switching between Bratislava and Starý Smokovec as his places of residence. Still as a student, Votruba travelled across Slovakia, in 1912 he travelled through Bavaria and in 1914 he stayed in Leipzig and Vienna for two months. In 1925 Votruba was painting in the Orava region and after 1936, he used to spend the major part of the year in High Tatras. In terms of iconography, Votruba most often painted sceneries of Tatras which made him well-known as a “painter of the beauties of the High Tatras”. He was a sort of landscapist-collector, who worked in series, always selecting one central theme, while attempting for its full documentarist exhaustion. Votruba’s main painting techniques included tempera and oil painting, influenced primarily by impressionist approach. During his whole life, Votruba published his painting also in books, often accompanied by his own text. He attempted for cultural and tourism development of the High Tatras. His aim was to establish a gallery, zoological and botanical garden in the Tatras as well as a museum of traditional folk culture. Sources: Ritter, W.: Jaroslav Votruba. Bratislava 1944; Wagner, V.: Nové slovenské maliarstvo. Bratislava 1944; Váross, M.: Slovenské výtvarné umenie 1918-1945. Bratislava 1960.