Dr. Gradinskaite is originally from Birzai, Lithuania. She earned her B.A. in Art History and Theory at Vilnius Academy of Fine Arts. In 2000, she was awarded her M.A. degree with her thesis entitled “Jewish Fine Arts in the Context of Lithuanian Art, 1920-1940. Her PhD was awarded in 2004 with a dissertation “Aspects of Self-Awareness in the Idea of Lite (Jewish Lithuania) in Jewish Diaspora Fine Arts”.

A regular lecturer and writer, Dr. Gradinskaite has focused on Jewish art in Lithuania. She has served as the Curator, Vilna Gaon Jewish State Museum of Lithuania, Researcher, Center for Studies of Lithuanian Jews’ Culture, Lithuanian Institute of Culture, Philosophy and Art, and Lecturer, Vilnius Yiddish Institute, Vilnius University.

You can read more about her on her web site. The site has a listing of Jewish artists which is a good resource.

Her article which follows, “The First Exhibitions of Jewish Artists in Kaunas (1920-1940) from the Art Critic’s Perspective”, was published in “IGGUD Selected Essays in Jewish Studies, Vol. 3, pages 115-129, The Hebrew University-Magnes Press, Jerusalem, 2007.

A special article is being posted on the LitvakSIG Online Journal site, which deals with the topic of Jewish artistic achievement in pre-World War II Lithuania. The article, "The First Exhibitions of Jewish Artists in Kaunas (1920-1940) from the Art Critic's Perspective", is authored by Dr. Vilma Gradinskaite, who is originally from Birzai, Lithuania. The article was originally published in "IGGUD Selected Essays in Jewish Studies, Vol. 3, pages 115-129, The Hebrew University-Magnes Press, Jerusalem, 2007.