Petras Stauskas

Petras Stauskas (20 June 1919 – 28 February 2003) was a Lithuanian artist and long-term director of the M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum (1951–1988).

As a student at the present-day Vilnius Academy of Arts, Stauskas was arrested during the June deportation in 1941. He was released from the Gulag when it became clear that he was confused with another man by the same name. He then joined the Lithuanian 16th Rifle Division and was injured fighting to retake Lithuania. In 1946, he resumed his studies and graduated in 1950.

In 1951, he was appointed director of the M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum. He quietly resisted Sovietization efforts: he employed former political prisoners and safeguarded various politically unacceptable exhibits. He also worked to expand the museum and open branches in Druskininkai and Jurbarkas as well as specialized Žmuidzinavičius Museum and Ceramics Museum in Kaunas. He was dismissed from the museum in March 1988.

Biography Early life and education Petras Stauskas was born 20 June 1919 in , Novouzensky District.