World's largest collection of works on Holodomor handed over to Ukraine

The heirs of Morgan Williams, the American philanthropist and president of the US-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), have donated a collection of artworks and books about the Holodomor to the National Holodomor Museum. [Holodomor was a man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine, which lasted from 1932 to 1933 and claimed the lives of millions of Ukrainians – ed.]

Source: Lesia Hasydzhak, the director of the institution, on air with Radio Kultura (Culture)

Quote: "Each exhibit in our museum is the result of searches, conversations and recordings of testimonies. These are not typological items, and behind each of them is not a story, but a tragedy. The Holodomor needs to be understood, and then reflected on in one or another form of art. That is why this transfer is important for us as an institution."

Details: The complete collection is to be transferred to the museum in mid-November. By that time, a transfer certificate will be drawn up, and a donation agreement will be signed.

The Morgan Williams collection includes 600 items. Among them are 360 paintings, engravings, and linocuts, including one of Viktor Zaretskyi's last works, Molot ("Hammer"), a collection of 91 linocuts by amateur local historian and artist Mykola Bondarenko, and 118 works by graphic artist Volodymyr Kutkin.

The collection also includes badges, envelopes, and stamps related to the Holodomor. Auxiliary items include books, booklets and information leaflets from international and Ukrainian exhibitions about the Holodomor from the Williams archives.

Who is Morgan William?

The American businessman and philanthropist began assembling his art collection on the Ukrainian Holodomor in 1997 while working in Ukraine as a representative of the US government. Williams specialised in the agricultural sector and was not of Ukrainian descent.

"In the entire history of Ukraine, no one except Morgan Williams has started collecting art that is a reflection on the knowledge of the history of the genocide of Ukrainians," explained Lesia Hasydzhak. 

He came up with the idea to approach artists and painters and buy their works. This is how he met Nina Marchenko, Vira Kuleba-Barynova, and Ivan Novobranets. He also worked with Holodomor researcher James Mace. By 2000, the large share of the collection had already been formed. Subsequently, Williams gave his collection the title Paintings That Never Were.

Morgan Williams passed away on 10 June 2024 at his home in California at 84 years old.

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