Crnčić Menci Klement

(Bruck on Mura River, 1865 – Zagreb, 1930)

He studied painting at the academies in Vienna (1882 – 84) and Munich (1889 – 92). After the recommendation of Isidor Kršnjavi, he was awarded the 1894 Provincial Government Scholarship for study of graphic arts at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts under prof. William Unger. During his studies he was awarded the Füger Gold Medal in 1896 and the Vienna Academy Special Prize in 1897, and nine of his graphics became part of the Albertina collection in Vienna. With B. Č. Sesija, he opens a private painting school in Zagreb in 1903, which in 1907 grew into the College of Arts and Crafts, and later to the Academy of Fine Arts. Appointed Director of the Strossmayer Gallery in Zagreb (1920 – 1928). A member of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts (JAZU) from 1919.