Municipal Gallery of Mytilini

The Municipal Art Gallery of Mytilene is housed in a three-storey Ottoman konak of 1880, a characteristic example of local architecture, which belonged to the last descendant of the Koulaxidis family, Halim Bey. The Gallery holds one of the most important painting collections in Greece, consisting of 138 paintings, rare engravings, books and prints donated to the Municipality by Giorgos Simos–Petritis and his sister Elli Simou. Giorgos Simos–Petritis was one of Greece’s foremost art critics and a close friend of major painters, a fact that adds special value to the collection. Besides the Petritis Collection, the Gallery hosts works by important Lesvian and other Greek artists.