Langhans Foundation Prague was established in 2003 with the aim of preserving and making accessible the unique archive of the Gallery of Eminent People. This extensive collection of glass negatives, discovered during the reconstruction of the Langhans building, captures portraits of prominent figures from the late 19th and early 20th centuries and serves as a unique testimony to the cultural and social history of that era.
On April 30, 2003, the Langhans Foundation Prague was founded by the descendants of Jan Langhans to ensure the preservation of this valuable cultural legacy for future generations. Věra Meisnerová, widow of the studio’s last owner, established the foundation with the mission of protecting and making accessible the unique archive of portraits of significant Czech and global figures.
The foundation oversees thousands of glass negatives, which were incorporated into the foundation as its core assets. This archive features portraits of eminent individuals such as Tomáš G. Masaryk, Antonín Dvořák, and Ema Destinnová, as well as many forgotten personalities of historical significance.
One of the foundation's key goals is to restore cultural memory, which was nearly lost when the communist regime attempted to destroy it by disposing of millions of glass negatives in the 1950s. The rediscovery of the negatives in 1998 and 2000 is considered a near-miracle, contributing significantly to the restoration of Czech cultural and historical continuity.
The foundation is dedicated to the professional preservation, restoration, and digitization of these valuable negatives. This meticulous process enables the collection to be made accessible to the public through both printed and digital publications.
A major project of the foundation is the digitization of the archive. This initiative creates a digital archive accessible not only to specialists but also to anyone interested in history and photography. The digitization process is carried out with the utmost care to preserve the details and quality of the original negatives.