of a whole school of Latvian painting. During the period of the Republic of Latvia Purvītis also organized many exhibitions of Latvian art in Europe. After the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 Purvītis was dismissed from the post of museum director but continued to work in the Art Academy. In 1942 his last exhibition in Riga was held. In 1944 Purvītis lost all of his belongings and many of his works when his house and workshop were destroyed during the Battle of Jelgava in the summer of 1944. Purvītis was forced to evacuate to Liepāja and from there to Danzig. Wilhelms Purvītis died on 14 January 1945 in Bad Nauheim, Hessen. Purvītis' remains were reinterred at the Riga Forest Cemetery in 1994 after Latvia regained its independence. He was awarded the Order of three stars (III and II class) and many more decorations. Constantly experimenting and becoming a master of snow scenes, Purvītis began as a Realist painter, turned to Impressionism, and was later influenced by Cézanne and Munch. His painting Winter (1910) also suggests the influence of Art Nouveau. He is considered one of the greatest Latvian painters during the first half of the 20th century. His landscapes are full of local motives and Latvian nature is portrayed in the neo-romantic atmosphere. During his lifetime he produced more than a thousand paintings and drawings and many of them were never exhibited because he preferred to collect them in his apartment. Sources 1872 births 1945 deaths People from Cēsis Municipality People from Kreis Riga 20th-century Latvian painters Rectors of universities in Latvia Academic staff of the University of Latvia Recipients of the Order of the Three Stars Recipients of the Cross of Recognition Recipients of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta Latvian World War II refugees Latvian emigrants to Germany Burials at Forest Cemetery, Riga