Nine months after the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Lithuanian museum curator Skaistis Mikulionis finally saw an opportunity to evacuate two Dutch masterpieces from the Odesa Museum of Western and Eastern Art. Before the war began, Mikulionis had arranged to exhibit the artwork in Lithuania, and he was not going to let the war alter his plans. With Odesa under regular bombardment, the risky operation had a crucial second objective: Keep the paintings safe until they could be returned home. So as many Ukrainians were fleeing the country, Mikulionis headed toward the front lines to rescue Frans Hals’ vividly personal portraits of the evangelists Luke and Matthew.

“Only idiots aren’t afraid,” said the curator, “but it is simply our duty to help.”

Nine months after the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Lithuanian museum curator Skaistis Mikulionis finally saw an opportunity to evacuate two Dutch masterpieces from the Odesa Museum of Western and Eastern Art. Before the war began, Mikulionis had arranged to exhibit the artwork in Lithuania, and he was not going to let the war alter his plans. With Odesa under regular bombardment, the risky operation had a crucial second objective: Keep the paintings safe until they could be returned home. So as many Ukrainians were fleeing the country, Mikulionis headed toward the front lines to rescue Frans Hals’ vividly personal portraits of the evangelists Luke and Matthew.

“Only idiots aren’t afraid,” said the curator, “but it is simply our duty to help.”

Two volunteer riflemen drive Skaistis Mikulionis and paintings from Ukraine to Lithuania in a special museum transportation vehicle on Aug. 27, 2024. Courtesy of Skaistis Mikulionis/Lithuanian National Museum of Art

Since the start of the war, Lithuania, a small Baltic country that borders Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, has been evacuating works of art from Ukraine. The items are kept in safe facilities of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art, shown to the public at exhibitions, and, if needed, restored by first-class professionals. According to the Ukrainian government, Russia has looted over 35,000 museum items and currently controls 2.1 million more in its occupied territories. Lithuania, which has its own history of being occupied by both imperial Russia and the Soviet Union, is also planning a security protocol to safeguard its own art in the event of another invasion.

The Frans Hals evacuation was the first of a couple of dozen trips Mikulionis has made to Ukraine since 2022. “I can’t even remember the exact number,” he told Foreign Policy. So far, his efforts have led to the evacuation of over 1,500 artworks and the production of 20 exhibits in Lithuania. Mikulionis describes it as a joint endeavor involving over 80 Lithuanian museum workers, and dozens of Ukrainian art specialists and professional brokers who volunteered their time.

Mikulionis carries a painting by Maria Prymachenko at the Borys Voznytsky Lviv National Art Gallery in Ukraine on Aug. 25, 2024. Courtesy of Skaistis Mikulionis/Lithuanian National Museum of Art

Even without a war, moving art is a heavily regulated process that requires navigating a long bureaucratic net of contracts and insurance. It starts with an agreement between two institutions, followed by customs clearances, police escorts, insurance agreements, and the presence of professionals........

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