The Functionalist style exhibition hall of the "Spolek Výtvarných Umělců Mánes" (Mánes – Artists Association) was built between 1927 and 1930 following architect Otakar Novotný´s design. The modern building was built between the Vltava River waterfront and the Slavic Island. The building had a large exhibition hall of 300 square meters, meeting rooms, a French restaurant, confectionery, coffee shop,
and a bar Luculus. In the interwar, the Mánes building was one of the most active centres of cultural and social life in Prague, where important modern art events were held. The association was named after the renowned 19th century painter and it was forcefully abolished when the Communist regime came into power in Czechoslovakia in 1948.
Today the Mánes building is used again as a gallery.
