Second Czech institution to join Scala's popular Director's Choice series, along side The Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, ISBN 9781785511202. One of the country's most important collections outside Prague. The Gallery is central to Plzen's rise as an increasingly important destination for cultural tourism. Founded in 1953, the Gallery of West Bohemia houses one of the Czech Republic's most important collections of visual art - 10,000 graphic, painted and sculptural works, with an emphasis on Czech art of the late 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries. The collection includes works by the great figures of Czech modernism, Bohumil Kubista, Emil Filla, Otto Gutfreund, Toyen and Josef Sima. Director Roman Musil's personal selection of highlights has been made as the Gallery looks forward to a move into new, state-of-the-art premises that will allow the collection to expand further and cement Plzen's reputation as one of the Czech Republic's most attractive and exciting cultural destinations.