Petras Stauskas (20 June 1919 – 28 February 2003) was a Lithuanian artist and long-term director of the M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum (1951–1988).
As a student at the present-day Vilnius Academy of Arts, Stauskas was arrested during the June deportation in 1941.
[2] In 1922, the family returned to Lithuania and settled in their original village of Jaskoniškės [lt] near Dusetos where Stauskas attended a primary school.
[3] For a few months, he worked at a tank factory in Nizhny Tagil before joining the Lithuanian 16th Rifle Division of the Red Army.
He held this position until he was fired by the Minister of Culture Jonas Bielinis [lt] on 15 March 1988.
[1] According to witnesses, he even had a secret hand signal to warn employees if a KGB agent came to visit the museum.
[3] Stauskas also hid and protected from destruction various politically unacceptable items from the interwar Lithuania (for example, a set of Lithuanian state orders, property of coin mint, sport awards, memorabilia of various institutions and societies)[1] or religious items (for example, wooden folk sculptures of Jesus or saints).
He worked to preserve original interiors of Pažaislis Monastery and Church of St. Michael the Archangel, Kaunas.
His paintings usually feature limited and restrained colors that help convey emotion and person's character.
[5][9] He also painted Soviet-themed scenes, for example celebrations of the October Revolution and presidium of the People's Seimas.