Pavle Beljanski

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Pavle Beljanski
Born	June 19, 1892(1892-06-19) Veliko Gradište, Serbia
Died	July 14, 1965 (aged 73) Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Occupation	lawyer and diplomat

Pavle Beljanski (Veliko Gradište, June 19, 1892 - Belgrade, July 14, 1965), was a lawyer and diplomat, art lover and great connoisseur, and collector who acquired the most complete collection of Serbian paintings from the first half of the 20th Century. By giving it to the Serbian people he became one of its greatest benefactors.

He went to high school in Belgrade, where he also studied law until the beginning of World War I, when he left for Paris. He graduated at the Sorbonne and went to post-graduate studies there as well. He began his diplomatic career in Stockholm, and continued it in Warsaw, Berlin, Vienna, Paris, Rome and Belgrade. Residing in European capitals between world wars, he was in position to study the greatest works of art and to meet famous artists and writers like Jovan Ducić, Ivo Andrić, Rastko Petrović, Milutin Milanković, Veljko Petrović, Isidora Sekulić, as well as Milan Konjović, Kosta Hakman, Milo Milunović, Sreten Stojanović, Jefto Perić and Marino Tartalja.

All this inspired his passion for collecting art. At first, he was interested in European, mostly Renaissance art, but he realized that the most exquisite works of art were beyond his acquisition. While spending time with young artists, he concentrated his interests on contemporary art. After a while, his collection of paintings, sculptures and tapestries of at that time relatively unknown authors grew into unique collection of great works of art. Tragic circumstances - death of seven members of his family during bombing of Svilajnac in 1944, - left Beljanski without the possibility to share the beauty of his collection with his dearest, so he decided to donate it to the Serbian people.