Adomas Varnas (1879-1979).
“Artist and beggar”,  1906-1908, oil on canvas, 115x80. 
Čiurlionis National Art Museum

By Frank Passic, Albion, Michigan, USA

A few weeks ago in Vilnews there was an article about Lithuanian artist Adomas Varnas (1879-1979), which included an illustration of his 1953 masterpiece entitled “The Coronation of King Mindaugas.” Varnas’ lifespan far surpassed those of his counterparts, and his biography is extensive. Varnas was co-founder and the first president (1920) of the Association of Creative Artists, and helped organize Lithuanian art schools and galleries. He became well known for his collection of ethnographic material, particularly the wayside crosses. He also designed various Lithuanian stamps and banknotes.

Varnas escaped to the West during the summer of 1944, and in 1949 settled in Chicago, Illinois. Despite his old age, he remained active until the time of his death. He celebrated his upcoming 100^th birthday on December 8, 1978 and was able to speak briefly at a banquet held in his honor in Chicago at the time.

In a bit of irony, the Lithuanian numismatist Dr. Aleksandras Rackus (1893-1965) wrote in 1949:

 “Adomas Varnas, the famous Lithuanian artist…is coming to the U.S. He fled from the Bolsheviks in his old age and lived as a refugee in a D.P. camp in Germany. He is more than 70 years old and malnutrition made him physically weak. Stamp collectors undoubtedly will want his autograph and other favors, but they should remember that he won’t live very long, so try to reciprocate. At least buy from him a painting.”

Not only did Varnas live a long life of 100 years, he lived for more than thirty years after Rackus’ statement! Rackus died in 1965.

The focus of this article concerns Varnas’ role in designing the so-called permanent banknotes of the Bank of Lithuania, dated November 16, 1922.  These replaced the so-called temporary notes that were dated September 10, 1922 and printed in Berlin. The Bank of Lithuania was still in the process of being organized in September, 1922, and was located on the first floor of the Finance Ministry building. The building was located at the corner of Donelaitis and Maironis Sts. in Kaunas.

The Bank of Lithuania was first headquartered in the Lithuanian Finance
Ministry building, located at the corner of Donelaitis and
Maironis Sts. in Kaunas, in the fall of 1922. 

The permanent notes were printed at the firm of Andreas Haase in Prague, Czechoslovakia.  The designs on the smaller denominations in various centas values were produced mechanically by the printing firm. Those notes beginning with the denomination of 1 litas and higher were specifically designed by Varnas. Research by collector John Glynn and published in The Knight in 1984 3 reveals some intriguing details concerning Varnas’ role in the banknote process.

When Varnas was informed by Lithuanian Finance Minister Vytautas Petrulis in 1922 that he was assigned to supervise the printing of the new banknotes, he was given only twenty-four hours to pack his luggage and board the train to Prague. At the train station, Petrulis gave Varnas his ticket and a sealed envelope in which the artist thought were the instructions about the printing of the notes.

During the train journey, Varnas opened the envelope to become familiar with the instructions the government had outlined for the job. Neither the government nor Varnas had any say on the type of paper, ink, lettering, or printing which was to be used. Varnas became so angry with the arrangement that he almost turned back to Kaunas where he had caught the train. He changed his mind about resigning however as he felt many people would be angered by such a move.

When Varnas arrived at the printing plant, the production of the minor centas denominations was already in progress. There were three shifts working around the clock, and to Varnas’ surprise, the centas designs had already been formulated and engraved by the printers. This left only the various litas denominations for Varnas to work on.

The work shifts were broken into three groups. Two shifts were supervised by two Lithuanian Finance Ministry officials, with Varnas working the third shift. He would sometimes work double shifts in order to work on the designs. All the drawing and assembly work was done at night between 10 pm and 2 am, and the printing firm was on a strict timetable. Once a design was prepared by Varnas, he was unable to change it, even if he was not satisfied with it. This happened once as Varnas tried to hold up a printing project in order to improve the Vytis emblem, but because of the tight schedule he had to keep the original design.

Each note design consisted of two parts: 1) a screen background with two interlacing security designs created mechanically, and 2) the top artistic theme design drawn by hand. Varnas inserted a secret mark in his designs so that counterfeit notes could be detected. He included a triangle in one design, an elongated slot in another, and so forth.

The Bank of Lithuania was very pleased with the work of the printing firm. Bank of Lithuania governor Vladas Jurgutis showed his appreciation by awarding the workforce a week’s salary as a Christmas bonus. Varnas remained in Prague for a total of fourteen months. Twelve months were spent on the printing and engraving assignment, while the other two were for a vacation before returning to Kaunas. Varnas was paid 15,000 litai (U.S. $1,500) for the assignment.

The text on the face of the permanent banknote series translates, “Bank of Lithuania, Kaunas, November 16, 1922, Bank of Lithuania. XX Litas. One Litas contains 0.150462 grams of pure gold.” Based on the gold standard, the litas at the time was worth U.S. 10¢. Also contained on the face are the signatures of the officials of the Bank of Lithuania for the denominations 2 litas and higher: “V. Jurgutis, A. Prusas, P. Grajauskas, J. Paknys, and Julius Kaupas.” The various centas denominations and the 1 litas note were ordered by the Finance Ministry before the Bank of Lithuania was organized, and so contain Finance Ministry signatures. In addition to the denomination designations, the backs of the 1922 series carry the warning which translates “Counterfeiting Banknotes is Punishable by Law.”

Each denomination has its own designs and historical images associated with it, and these will be discussed in future articles. Our specific focus for this article however, is the 50 litas note (Pick-19) designed by Adomas Varnas. It is illustrated here. The note measures 150 x 78 mm. with the watermark in the paper consisting of ovals. This is one of the most colorful and beautiful notes of the 1922 permanent series. Major colors include green, aqua, and yellowish-brown. The note is decorated throughout with various Lithuanian folk motifs. At the time it was placed into circulation in March, 1923, it had a face value of U.S. $5.00. It is known only with a prefix serial letter of A. The serial numbers are printed in red ink.  This note was withdrawn from circulation when a new 50 litas note was issued in November 1928.

The face of the note features the coats-of-arms of Lithuania’s three major cities: Kaunas, Vilnius, and Klaipeda. As an assertion of territorial and national integrity, Lithuania made several references to Polish-occupied Vilnius on its banknotes. In addition, the port city of Klaipeda was still in the hands of the Allied Powers  when this note was dated (1922), until the insurrection of January, 1923 brought the city and environs into Lithuanian hands. On the left the arms of Kaunas depicts a wild ox with a cross between its horns. The arms of Vilnius depicts St. Christopher carrying the baby Jesus. The arms of Klaipeda, known as Memel in German, depicts a fortified castle with a small boat resting in the water below.

On the right portion of the face is the image of Grand Duke Gediminas, founder of the capital city of Vilnius. A Caduceus emblem (snakes) representing commerce appears in the center. The back of the note displays an intricate ornate design which forms a huge Columns of Gediminas emblem. In the center can be seen the Hill of Gediminas,  the Cathedral of Vilnius, and the nearby Bell Tower.

While studying the details of this 50 litas note, this writer became intrigued by the image of Gediminas found on the face. “Where have I seen this image before?,” I thought to myself. I looked through the 1921 “Lietuvos Albumas” book 4 which contained the photographs of prominent Lithuanians during that period, and discovered something quite incredible. Based upon the photo of Adomas Varnas in that book, I surmise that Adomas Varnas used his own facial image to portray Grand Duke Gediminas on the 50 litas note!

Pictured here for our readers is a flipped-image of Varnas facing left, and next to it the image of Grand Duke Gediminas on the 1922 50 litas note. Compare the two images carefully. I conclude this article by asking our readers:  Did he, or didn’t he? You decide.

 Pictured here for our readers is a flipped-image of Varnas facing left, and next to it the image of Grand Duke Gediminas
on the 1922 50 litas note. Compare the two images carefully. I conclude this article by asking our readers: 
Did he, or didn’t he? You decide.

FOOTNOTES

Dr. Aleksandras M. Rackus. “Adomas Varnas.” American-Lithuanian Philatelic Specialist, June, 1949, pg. 18.

Karys, Jonas. Nepriklausomos Lietuvos Pinigai, (New York, Aukeslis, 1953), pg. 139.

John Glynn. “Adomas Varnas: Artist, Banknote Designer.” The Knight, August-September 1984, pp. 1, 2, 4.

Lietuvos Albumas. Berlin: Otto Elsner, 1921.