International Council of Museums – ICOM is celebrating its 75th anniversary this November! Here at ICOM Czech Republic, we are celebrating this milestone by remembering Josef Cibulka (1886 – 1968), one of ICOM’s founding members.

Cibulka was an art historian, archaeologist, university professor, Catholic priest and, from 1939 to 1945, head of the State Collection of Old Art – the predecessor of today’s National Gallery Prague .

Between the Wars, Cibulka became actively involved in the activities of international organizations. He continued his involvement immediately after WWII by representing Czechoslovakia at UNESCO’s second General Assembly in Paris in 1946. Cibulka and colleagues from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, France, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States founded the International Council of Museums, or ‘ICOM.’ Negotiations took place from 16 to 20 November at the Louver Museum. They surely proposed a toast with Cibulka’s beloved cognac.

Cheers to ICOM!