1921
Born 4 May in Velika Pisanica near Bjelovar, the second of four children of Franciska nee Torbašinović and Vinko Murtić.
1925
The Murtić family move to Zagreb, Bisačka ulica 5, in Trešnjevka.
1935
After completing elementary school and four forms of secondary school in Zagreb, exhibited for the first time in the First Non-Classical Grammar School. Enrolled in the Craft School (today the School of Applied Art) where his teachers were Edo Kovačević, Ernest Tomašević and Kamilo Tompa.
1936
Made his first theatre posters, graphically designed for the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, the Peoples Theatre and the Student Club.
1937- 1938
Began to be interested in stage design and worked for the Student Theatre in Zagreb. It was in this period that he became strongly left-wing under the influence of the novelist Miroslav Krleža and other left-wing intellectuals. He designed posters for the United Workers’ Syndicates, and became a member of the Youth League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKOJ) .
1939
Enrolled in the Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts (ALU). Teachers Ljubo Babić and Krsto Hegedušić
1940
Went to Belgrade where he attended Petar Dobrović’s Art School.
1941
Continued his studies at the Zagreb Art Academy in the class of Ljubo Babić, and on Babić’s recommendation spent two months in Rome studying stage design. Illustrated the first collection of poems by Jure Kaštelan Crveni konj (Red Horse), linocuts. The book was banned immediately after publication. Murtić and Kaštelan became close friends as a result of their similar convictions concerning art and politics. Murtić joined the National Liberation Movement (NOP).
1942
Spent two months in Rome studying scenic art on the recommendation of Prof. Ljubo Babić
1943
At the beginning of the year joined the Partisans and began to play an active part the Anti-Fascist movement. While in the Partisans made drawings, sketches and notes of the fighting (human suffering, destruction). These are of both documentary and high artistic value.
1944
As a fighter in the National Liberation Army (NOVJ) stayed in Topusko - Together with the artist Zlatko Prica, also a member of the National Liberation Army, made a portfolio of linocuts GRAFIKA and another entitled JAMA (The Pit) based on the moving poem of the same name by Ivan Goran Kovačić.
1944-1945
Took part in the exhibition of Partisan Art which was held in Topusko and in a number of recently liberated towns: Dubrovnik, Split, Šibenik, Zadar and Zagreb.
1945
Began to work in his own studio in the attic of Martićeva Ulica 14/e in Zagreb. This was to be his ‘place of freedom’ until 1987. It was here that he made many of his most famous pictures and it became a meeting place for the most outstanding artists and intellectuals. Every Sunday morning for more than forty years they gathered in this studio to talk about and discuss the most varied subjects. The list of those who attended this famous Zagreb open salon is a long one: Vlado Gotovac, Stevan Luketić, Jure Kaštelan, Kosta Angeli Radovani, Neven Šegvić, Dalibor Parać, Zdenko Kolacio, Raul Goldoni, Dragovan Šepić, Petar Selem and many others.
1946
Went on a study tour to Czechoslovakia and had a solo exhibition in the Umelecka beseda Gallery in Prague
1948
Exhibited together with Zlatko Prica and Nikola Reiser who called themselves Trojica (The Three) in Zagreb and Belgrade. Awarded his first prize for painting. Travelled in the USA and Canada. Worked on arranging the Yugoslav pavilion in Toronto and before returning spent a considerable time in Paris.
1949
Created his Jadranski ciklus (Adriatic Cycle) the subject of which was the sea. Created the décor for the Yugoslav pavilions in Vienna and Hanover and stayed some time in Paris.
1951-1952
Went for a long stay to the USA. He was deeply impressed by American culture and his experience of everyday life and especially by American abstract expressionism and his meetings with Jackson Pollock, James Brooks, William de Kooning and Richard Diebenkorn. Had solo exhibitions in New York, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles and San Pedro.
1953
The pictures which he now painted entitled Doživljaj Amerike (American Experience) marked a turning point in the work of Murtić and in Croatian contemporary art. He exhibited these paintings after his return in the Serbian Society of Artists (ULUS) in Belgrade and the Croatian Society of Artists (ULUH) in Zagreb. The poet Jure Kaštelan wrote an inspirational introduction to the catalogue in which he noted the new importance of Murtić’s art. Exhibited in the III Biennale in Tokyo. His wall paintings for the newly-opened Ritz-bar caused a shock wave in Zagreb.
1954
Had solo exhibition Sluh Mora (Sound of the Sea) in the Zagreb Art Pavilion, and in the City National Committee Gallery in Belgrade (GNO). Designed the scenery for Blood Wedding by Federico Garcia Lorca, produced by Kosta Spaić and acted in the Zagreb Drama Theatre.
1955
Opatijski ciklus (Opatia Cycle) shown at a solo exhibition in the Zagreb City Gallery of Contemporary Art. Solo exhibition in Brussels at the Palais des Beaux-Arts with introductory text to catalogue written by Emille Langui, president of the São Paulo Biennale jury
1955-1956
Murtić’s paintings included in the exhibition Sixty Works of Modern Yugoslav Painting, shown in Marseille, Zürich, Stuttgart and Manchester.
1956
Exhibited in Rome in Galleria Nazionale d' Arte Moderna. Made the scenery for The Sicilian Lemons by Luigi Pirandello, directed by Kosta Spaić in the Zagreb Drama Theatre. Mladen Galić began to work in Murtić’s studio as his assistant, an arrangement that lasted until 1964.
1957
One of the founding group of Mart (March) which organised an exhibition in the Zagreb Art Pavilion. Solo exhibition in Galerie Würthle, Vienna, organised by sculptor Fritz Wortrub. Took part in exhibitions Arte Yugoslava contemporanea in Milan, Jugoslawianske sztuka wspolszesna in Warsaw and Krakow, and Kroatische Kunst der Gegenwart in Erlangen. His ceramic panel for the Yugoslav pavilion at Brussels EXPO 58 aroused great interest among international critics who praised it highly. Married the artist Goranka Vrus.
1958
Exhibited at XXIX Biennale in Venice, in Pittsburgh at the World Exhibition Carnegie, in Kassel a the exhibition Documenta (Die Kunst nach 1945) and at the exhibition Group Zagreb 58 in Antwerp. Designed the scenery for the opera The Nightingale by Igor Stravinsky, directed in the Croatian National Theatre by Vlado Habunek. His son Marko born.
1959
Solo exhibitions in Milan and Zagreb. Exhibited in Art Yugoslavie d' aujurd' hui in Paris, at the III International Exhibition of Graphic Art in Ljubljana and at Salon 59 in Rijeka, where he was awarded a prize.
1960
Had exhibitions in: GNO Gallery, Belgrade, Galleria La Medusa, Rome, Mala Gallery and Modern Gallery Salon, Ljubljana. The exhibition New Painting from Yugoslavia was organised in big cultural centres in the USA: Boston, Washington and New York, aroused exceptional critical attention. His works were included in Artisti Yugoslavi (Yugoslav Artists) in such important cultural centres as Milan, Bologna and Turin and in Exposition des artistes Yugoslaves in Antibes. He designed the scenery for the opera Orpheus and Eurydice by Christopher Willibald Glück directed by Vlado Habunek in the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, and given the City of Zagreb award at the First Exhibition of Yugoslav Graphic Art in Zagreb
1961
Exhibited in Wiesbaden together with Drago Tršar in the Renata Boukes Gallery. His works were included in the exhibition Contemporary Yugoslav Painting and Sculpture in Brighton, Coventry and Kingston Upton Hull. In. Wiesbaden and Essen contributed to the exhibition Neue Yugoslawische Kunst. He received awards at the ITriennial of Art in Belgrade and at the IV International Exhibition of Graphic Art in Ljubljana.
1962
Solo exhibition in Zagreb City Gallery of Contemporary Art, participated at the exhibition L' Art Contemporian en Yugoslavie in the Musee National d'Art Moderne in Paris. This last exhibition was later presented in Stockholm, Rome and Bari. In Venice exhibited in 25 Artisti Yugoslavi.
1963
Solo exhibitions in Zagreb Museum of Arts and Crafts (MUO), and in Milan in Gallerie Bergamini. In Paris showed his work to the French cultural public in a solo exhibition in the Raymond Creuze Gallery for which the introduction to the catalogue was by the writer and art historian Jean Cassou. At this exhibition he was awarded the Marzotto Prix for painting. Exhibited in following group exhibitions: Suvremeni jugoslavenski slikari i grafičari (Contemporary Yugoslav Painters and Graphic Artists) in Athens and Salonica, in Trigon 63 in Graz, and in Premio di Pittura Citta di Faenza, where he was awarded the Gold Medal of the President of the Republic of Italy. At the exhibition Tradicesimo premio Lissone he was awarded the Grand Prix, and his work was shown in the exhibition Nutida Jugoslavisk kunst in Vasteros. In Rimini he was awarded the Morgans Paint Gold Medal
1964
Exhibited at XXXII Biennale in Venice, and in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade, in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Skoplje, and Gallery 61 in Klagenfurt. After the catastrophic earthquake in Skoplje, he made a series of lithographs for bibliophile edition of Jure Kaštelan’s poems Skopje u tvojim očima (Skopje in your Eyes). He built a house and studio in Vrsar, a small coastal town in Istria, where he later spent much of his time. He began to make mosaics and made a memorial sculpture of three obelisks in Poreč. His second son Ranko born.
1965
Monographic exhibition in the Modern Gallery of the Yugoslav Academy of Arts and Sciences (JAZU, today the Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences, HAZU) in Zagreb. Solo exhibitions in Osborn Gallery, New York, Suzane Bollag Galery, Zürich, and Kunsthalle, Düsseldorf. Exhibited in the VIII Biennale in Tokyo, in the VIII Biennale in Bologna and in Arte Resistenza nel Europa in Graz in the Trigon 65 section.
1966
Together with graphic artist Janez Bernik and sculptor Dušan Džamonja exhibited in Anne Abels Gallery in Cologne, Split Art Gallery, Rijeka Modern Gallery and Galleria d'Arte Il Centro in Naples. In Ljubljana in Mestna Gallery took part in the exhibition of six Zagreb artists (Dušan Džamonja, Ferdinand Kulmer, Branko Ružić, Zlatko Prica and Stevan Luketić). Awarded First Prize for painting at the memorial Nadežda Petrović in Čačak.
1967
Exhibited at IX Biennale in São Paulo, in Jugoslawische Kunst heute in Bochum and Carnegie International in Pittsburgh. Solo exhibitions in the Niš Art Gallery and the Bjelovar Museum.
1968
In Musée de l' Athénée in Geneva had solo exhibition under auspices of Emille Langui. Works selected for the I Zagreb exhibition of Yugoslav Drawing. Began a large mosaic for the interior of the Post Office in Rijeka and completed a large mosaic panel in Šušnjari, Savonska Požega.
1969
One of the founding members of Forum Gallery in Zagreb instigated, founded, organised and run by artists themselves. Among the others were Ferdinand Kulmer, Kosta Angeli Radovani, Oton Postružnik, Zlatko Prica, Frano Šimunović, Ksenija Kantoci, Raul Goldoni, Nikola Reiser, Marija Ujević, Nives Kavurić – Kurtović, Goranka Vrus – Murtić, Dalibor Parać, Šime Perić, Ivan Lovrenčić, Josip Diminić etc. Solo exhibition in Galleria Sistiana in Trieste and Vinkovci Art Gallery. Exhibited at II Zagreb Exhibition of Yugoslav Drawings. Completed the mosaic for the Rijeka Post Office and the Cultural Centre in Buzet. Began to design tapestries, one very large one being ordered for the Libertas Hotel in Dubrovnik. Dalibor Jelavić began to work with him in his studio (until 1971).
1970
Solo exhibitions in Kostanjevica, La Spezia and in Zagreb. Exhibited in Artisti Croati in Sagittaria Gallery in Pordenone, at VI Zagreb Exhibition of Yugoslav Graphic Art, the International Biennale of Graphic Art in Tokyo and the IV Triennale of Art in Belgrade. Worked on a large mosaic in Čazma near Bjelovar for a memorial mausoleum for Victims of the Second Word War. Made a mosaic panel for the Dragutin Domjanić primary school in Zagreb. Given the Art Critic Award on the basis of an opinion poll conducted by Večernji list, the Zagreb daily newspaper with the largest circulation.
1971
Solo exhibition in Palazzo Reale in Milan organised by Andi Rosada. Showed works in enamel at Forum Gallery in Zagreb. In the Grand Palais in Paris works exhibited as part of exhibition Art on the Soil of Yugoslavia from Prehistoric Times until Today. Exhibited at IX International Biennale of Graphic Art in Ljubljana, and in Croatian Artists in Jacques Baruch Gallery in Chicago and Zeitgenossische Yugoslavische Kunst in From Leverkusen Gallery u Leverkusen. With Raul Goldoni and architect Slavko Jelinek designed interior of Zagreb Credit Bank. Produced linocut illustrations for book of poems by Vlado Gotovac for the bibliophile edition of Sadržaj vjetra (Essence of the Wind). Designed the scenery for Vlado Habunek’s production of Shakespeare’s Twefth Night produced in Zagreb Komedija Theatre. Branko Čilić became his art assistant and remained with him for more than ten years, until 1982.
1972
A year of important solo exhibitions both at home and abroad : the Art Gallery in Dubrovnik, the Galleria Pace in Milan and the Baruch Gallery in Chicago. Contributed to a number of large international events, including the III Biennale of Graphic Art in Tokyo, the III International exhibition of original drawings in Rijeka, where he got an award. Made a large enamel panel for the interior of the Water Management Building in Zagreb.
1973.
Took part in the exhibition Three Themes from Yugoslav Art shown in Dubrovnik, Cetinje and Zagreb. His graphics were part of two exhibitions, of Yugoslav Graphic Art in Paris and the X International Biennale of Graphic Art in Ljubljana. Finished work on a large tapestry for the interior of the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall in Zagreb.
1974
Took part in the exhibition Croatian Art 1945-1955 - Tendentious Realism organised as part of IX Zagreb Salon, where he received an award for painting. Exhibited at various international art events, including the VIII Zagreb Exhibition of Yugoslav Graphic Art where he received an award from the Cultural Fund, the V Biennale of Graphic Art in Krakow, and the IV International Exhibition of Original Drawings in Rijeka.
1975
Solo exhibition in Milan (Galleria Bergamini and Galleria del Pontaccio), and in Zagreb Forum Gallery. Contributions to the International Biennales of Graphic Art in Kyoto and Ljubljana. Worked on serigraphy bibliophile folio Nadopis obojenog žbunja, with verse by Oskar Davičo, and exhibited it in a solo exhibition in the Forum Gallery in Zagreb. With Milko Šparemblek designed scenery for Igor Stravinsky’s ballet Debussy Sonata in the Zagreb National Theatre. Visited Iraq as a guest of the government.
1976
Exhibited in the National Museum in Belgrade and the Belgrade Salon of the Museum of Contemporary Art. Won an award at the exhibition Premio internazionale Biella per l'incizione in Biella. Took part in Contemporary Yugoslav Art in Mexico City.
1977
Solo exhibition of war drawings War Diary organised in Belgrade. Solo exhibitions in u Genoa - Galleria Rinaldo Rotta, Galleria 4M in Florence and Galleria Sagittaria in Pordenone.
1978
Monograph Murtić by the literary critic Vladimir Maleković published by Centro Iniziative Culturali and Galleria Sagittaria Pordenone, Edizioni d'Arte. Solo exhibition in Centro Allende u La Spezia. Awarded the Grand Prix at the VI International Exhibition of Original Drawings in Rijeka.
1979
Solo exhibitions in Ljubljana, Novi Sad, Venice (Mestre), Pula and Maribor. Contributed to exhibition in Paris Galerie d' Art International.
1980
The landscape of Dalmatia and its islands became increasingly the subject of Murtić’s art. The Modern Gallery in Rijeka organised an important exhibition of his work organized by the art critic Boris Vižintin. Solo exhibitions in Mestna Gallery in Ljubljana, Galerie d' Art International in Paris, Galleria Zarathustra in Milan and Galerie du Rhin in Colmaro. Took part in exhibitions Yugoslav Art of the Sixth Decade in Belgrade and the Paris Galerie d'Art International (Murtić, Franzheim, Kulmer, Perilli, Malaval and Pizzinato). Gained the Grand Prix in the Biennale Art et Papier in Tourquet. Designed a large tapestry for the Ljubljana Bank in Zagreb..
1981
The notable exhibition One Summer, a return to the subject of the sea and the Mediterranean, was shown in Zagreb Art Pavilion, arranged by Igor Zidić. Solo exhibitions in a number of galleries among them those in the Art Gallery in Zadar, Galerie d' Art International in Paris, and International Art Corporation in Chicago. Contributed to Sculpture Garden in the Arthur Rubin Gallery in Highland Park, the exhibition Temoignage 81 in Paris in the Centre Georges Pompidou, and solo exhibitions arranged by the art fair organisation FIAC 81, in the Grand Palais in Paris.
1982
Remake of the graphic portfolio Jama (The Pit) from 1944, inspired by the poems of Ivan Goran Kovačić, once more together with Zlatko Prica. A copy of this work is in the Graphics Collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York. Solo exhibitions all over the former Yugoslavia (Niš, Čačak, Varaždin, Šibenik, Banja Luka). Solo exhibition in Paris Galerie d' Art International, contributed to Art et Papier in Tourquet.
1983
Eyes of Fear was the name of a large new cycle of works by Murtić. He used various techniques but mainly oil on canvas and gouache, it was also produced in graphic techniques. These paintings are an actualization of what for Murtić was an inescapable subject - human suffering and distress caused by war. It was exhibited for the first time in the Zagreb Forum Gallery, and later in a solo exhibition at the XVII Biennale in São Paulo. The concept for these exhibitions was by the Ljubljana art theoretician and director of the Ljubljana Gallery of Modern Art, Zoran Kržišnik. Murtić also had solo exhibitions in the Gallery of Modern Art in Ljubljana, Galleria Il Gabbiano in La Spezia, Palais de l' Europe in Le Tourquet. Gained the Grand Prix at the Biennale of Painting on Paper in Le Tourquet
1984
Produced the portfolio of prints Zavjet za Epetion (Vow for Epetion) together with the poet Jure Kaštelan. Solo exhibition in Modern Gallery in Rijeka and as part of the Paris FIAC in the Grand Palais, to concept of Ante Glibota.
1985
Solo exhibitions in several galleries including Florence in Galleria Aglaia and Dubrovnik Modern Gallery. Contributed to two international art events, Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Art and the exhibition New Tapestry in Paris. Received the highest Yugoslav honours of the previous state, the AVNOJ Award for his life’s work and the Vladimir Nazor Award for painting.
1986
Made his portfolio of prints S poštovanjem Titu (In Honour of Tito) published by the Museum Space in Zagreb (Today Galerija Klovićevi dvori), with a parallel exhibition of original works and plates from this portfolio. Contributed to the exhibitions New Tapestry in Chicago and Zagreb, and to New Tendencies in Contemporary Art in Sarajevo. Received an award from the Sarajevo daily newspaper Oslobođenje for his life’s work, the Grand Prix of the Zagreb Salon and the Grand Prix of the International Exhibition of Original Drawing in Rijeka.
1987
Study trip to the USA as guest of American government. In Chicago had an exhibition of his works in gouache. In Zagreb exhibited in Museum Space, Račić Gallery – Salon of the Modern Gallery and Amadeo Gallery. Moved to a larger studio on Trg kralja Tomislava 18, built at the end of the nineteenth century by the great Croatian painter Bukovac, and worked there until late autumn 2004. Milan Pavlović assisted Murtić, especially in the making of large mosaics (until 1989). Damir Ruljančić began to work with Murtić in his studio and remained his closest assistant until the artist’s last days.
1988
Solo exhibitions in Ljubljana Modern Gallery, Obalne galerije (Shore Galleries) in Piran, Dante Gallery in Umag, Modern Gallery in Skopje, Galerie Hermanns in Munich. Contributed to the Art Triennale in Belgrade, the International Exhibition of Original Drawings in Rijeka. During the Olympic Games in Seoul contributed to the international art exhibition in the newly-opened Museum of Modern Art. Began work on big mosaics for the parish Church of St Peter and St Paul in Mostar. Gained the award Chevalier de l'ordre des Arts et des Letters, a high French recognition in culture and art.
1989
Completed his mosaics for the Church of St Peter and St Paul in Mostar. Started work on mosaics for the church of St. Eustace in Dobrota in Boka Kotorska, commissioned by Father don Branko Sbutega the parish priest. Solo exhibition in Duson Gallery in Seoul, contributed to I International Exhibition of Water Colours in the same city. The monograph Edo Murtić by Michael Gibson published in the organisation of Ante Glibota.. Monographs published by Paris Art Centre, Globus Zagreb, Museum–Gallery Centre Zagreb and National and University Library Zagreb.
1990
Great retrospective exhibition of Murtić’s work in the Zagreb Museum of Arts and Crafts (MUO). Organised by the art critic and director of the museum Vladimir Maleković.
1991
Solo exhibitions in Galerie Hermanns, Münch, Galerie Kara in Geneva, Forum Gallery in Zagreb and Galleria Torbandena in Trieste.
1992
Solo exhibition in Wurtzer Gallery in Houston.
1993-199.
Exceptionally absorbed by war both as a man and as an artist. In his studios in Vrsar and in Zagreb he made hundreds of reflective works using various techniques, mostly gouache or pastel, and the war had its echo in his graphic art. He reacted to the war in ex-Yugoslavia during these years also by painting large oil-on-canvas paintings.
1993
In Zagreb finished the cycle Hommage a Dubrovnik, moved by the siege and tragic destruction in that city. He worked in gouache and later in linocut. Exhibited a portfolio of prints in Dubrovnik which he presented to the city. Began the cycle Viva la muerte, full of the bitter and universal symbols of the pointlessness of war. He showed oils-on-canvas showing scenes of fire – metaphors of war suffering at a solo exhibition in Hannah Feldman Gallery Leipzig. Exhibited in Opatija, Art Pavilion. Contributed to the XX International Biennale of Graphic Art in Ljubljana.
1994
During a two-month visit to Los Angeles, expressed his experience of war in a series of pastels and on his return to Zagreb created another large-scale cycle in gouache. This cycle is unknown to the general public. Solo exhibitions in Cobra Fine Art in San Francisco and Galleria Sagittaria in Pordenone, entitled Guerra perche? (Why War?), Santi Art Gallery in Jakarta, and Kennedy Museum u Athens, Ohio. Contributed to exhibition in Manny Silvermann Gallery, Los Angeles.
1995
Made portfolio of prints Crna jedra (Black Sail)) on the subject of war together with the writer Vlado Gotovac. Solo exhibitions in the Graphics Cabinet of the Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences (HAZU) in Zagreb, Laval Gallery in Trsat, Kula (Tower) Gallery in Split, Galleria Sagittaria, Centro Iniziative Culturali in Pordenone. In Podgorica, for the first and only time the pubic were able to see Murtić’s pastel cycle on the subject of war made a year earlier in Los Angeles. Took part in the exhibition Naturalism and Abstraction in the Museo Revoltella in Trieste
1996
Solo exhibitions in Široki Brijeg, Trieste and Poreč. Completed the building of his studio at his house in Vrsar where for years he had worked and spent the summer with his family.
1997
Elected a member of the Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences (HAZU). Portfolio of prints Crna jedra (Black Sail) shown in Tuzla, Sarajevo and Dubrovnik. Took part in Mediterranean Biennale in Dubrovnik where he was awarded the Grand Prix.
1998
Solo exhibitions in Zagreb Art Pavilion, the Modern Gallery in Dubrovnik, the Palacio Milesi in Split. Works exhibited in the ARCO International Exhibition in Madrid.
1999
Retrospective exhibition of graphics in Kortil Gallery, Rijeka, and Vincent of Kastav Gallery in Pula, conception of exhibition and catalogue by Zvonko Maković. Contributed to Biennale of Drawings in Zagreb and Biennale of Graphic Art in Ljubljana.
2000
Retrospective exhibition organised in Trieste, Museo Revoltella. His war cycle Viva la muerte, Hommageto Miroslav Krleža (1993-1995), publicly shown for the first time at a solo exhibition in the Cabinet of Graphic Art of the Croatian Academy in Zagreb. Zagreb art historian Zvonko Maković wrote the preface for the catalogue. The cycle Viva la muerte, was made using original art techniques and was as a whole first shown in the Gallery of Contemporary Art in Udine, for which the catalogue preface was written by the Belgrade writer and philosopher Radomir Konstantinović. Murtić’s work was included in the selection for the exhibition Currents of European Abstract Painting in the Galleria Torbandena in Trieste. The monograph MURTIĆ – ISTRA by Zvonko Maković pubished by Inart Poreč and Scaner Studio Zagreb. He again initiated the Murtić Donation together with his wife Goranka and in cooperation with the City of Zagreb. The Donation includes new works selected from his huge opus in all art techniques and exhaustive documentation of his art and creative life.
2001
Received Vladimir Nazor Award for his life’s work, the highest Croatian Award for culture and art, together with an award from the Forum Gallery of which he was one of the founders. Admitted to the Croatian Order of the Pleter, conferred by the President of the Republic of Croatia.
2002
Large retrospective exhibition to mark his eightieth birthday organised by the Modern Gallery in Zagreb, to the concept of Igor Zidić, art theoretician and director of the Gallery. Solo exhibitions in the Croatian Academy Gliptoteka in Zagreb, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Ibiza, the Galerie de l' Europe in Paris, and Novi Manjež in Moscow. Stina (The Rock), a documentary film on Murtić’s art by Rajko Grlić produced by Gama studio in Zagreb. Became Honorary Citizen of Bjelovar (Murtić was born in a village in the immediate surroundings of Bjelovar).
2003
Solo exhibition Lissone, in Civica galleria d' Arte Contemporanea, to the concept of Italian historian and art historian Flaminio Gualdoni. Received the Premio Lissone award for his life’s work.
2004
The most complete solo exhibition of his works in gouache organised in the Bjelovar Town Museum by Milan Bešlić. Exhibited in the Zagreb Mimara Museum with the group of outstanding international authors of the Lorca portfolio of prints, organised by Toni Politeo. Representative collection of most recent works exhibited in Poreč in Istrian assembly hall and in Palazzo Zuccato, in Cankar Centre Ljubljana and in Vienna in the Kunsthistorisches Museum - Palais Harrach. Finished part of mosaic Bijela cesta (White Road), for the sculpture symposium in Dubrova, Labin. In Venice awarded Premio Internazionale di grafica «Do Forni» and a plaque from the Mayor of Venice.
2005
January 2, Murtić’s creative and dynamic life ended in Zagreb. Exhibition of the works of Edo Murtić organised in Zagreb Art Pavilion by the art theoretician Tonko Maroević. As part of the exhibition the documentary film Edo Murtić 1921-2005, by Milan Bešlić, produced by Croatian television, was shown.