Fine art of the 1920s in Košice, also referred to as Košice modernism, represents an important chapter in the history of art not only in Slovakia but also in Central Europe. After the establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic, many Slovak and foreign artists found appropriate conditions for their work in Košice, which were a melting pot with a rich mixture of different nationalities and cultures. Košice became a temporary home for artists from Hungary, Romania, Bohemia and other countries, who studied in Budapest, Munich or Paris. In the 1920s, Košice represented a regional, yet very important alternative to avant-garde centres like Paris or Weimar. Art and culture in the town were systematically supported by the East Slovak Museum and in particular by its director, a Czech lawyer Josef Polák, who organised a number of art exhibitions and initiated the establishment of drawing classes (1921–1928) in the Museum under the guidance of Eugen Krón, a prominent graphic artist from Budapest. The protagonists of Košice modernism include artists like Anton Jaszusch, Konštantín Bauer (both from Košice), Gejza Schiller, František Foltýn and Alexander Bortnyik. Among the Hungarian artists displaying their works in Košice were Károly Kernstok, János Kmetty, Béla Uitz and many others.
