The fine arts collection of the Göcseji Museum in 2020 includes ….pieces, the applied arts collection contains …. items. The primary focus of the collection is the historical portrayal of Zala county and the works of local artists, the secondary basis of the representation is the modern Hungarian art. Besides the works of art that were collected officially by the museum, several pieces of art were donated, or were purchased by the government, or became part of the collection through application which has become more significant in the past few years.
A large part of the collection is represented by the heritage of sculptor Zsigmond Kisfaludi Strobl (1884-1975), graphic artist Mihály Gácsi (1926-1986), a significant part comes from sculptor Sándor Boldogfai Farkas’ heritage, (1907-1970), from painter Frigyes Frank’s heritage (1890-1976) and from the assorted art collection purchased from László Hertelendy in 1975. An outstanding piece of the collection is a 17th century composition by an anonymous painter picturing Antony and Cleopatra, a painting of an anonymous painter from the 18th century portraying the siege of Jerusalem, the Calvary series by István Dorffmaister (1973), the “Portrait of a Woman” by the young Miklos Barabás (1831) and “The Vlach in Berc Leaving for the Market” (1844) which is most probably his own replica, the painting of the young József Egry, titled “My Mother in the Room” (1910), or two portraits painted in cubist style by Imre Szobotka in his early years in the 1910s.
The 18th century material is enriched by several wooden statues collected from village churches. In the collected graphical material, the artworks donated by the Art Colony of Egervár in the 1970s play an important role.
The larger portion of the applied arts material was transported to the museum as part of the Hertelendy collection which mainly contained furniture, everyday articles for personal use and decors, besides paintings, graphics, and statues. For four decades the institution has been consciously striving to record János Németh’s career, already an honorary citizen of Zalaegerszeg, Munkácsy Prize winner ceramic artist; his works being part of both art collections (until now …. pcs) are significant. The representative tapestry made at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, presented to sculptor György Zala by the ladies of Zala, was added to the collection after 2000.