The framework of the work is based on art and exhibition activities in Rijeka, in the period between the two world wars, i.e. in the period from 1919. and the arrival of D´Annunzio in the city until 1939. and the beginning of the Second World War. This period is inseparable from its historical context, which in the immediate postwar years was marked by numerous turbulences in which the main role is played by the charismatic person of the poet-soldier Gabriele D´Annunzio. He was followed in Rijeka by numerous adventurers, eccentrics and futurist artists who, although they do not leave significant works of art, mark a short and turbulent futuristic moment in Rijeka. In contrast to this chaotic period, with the Italian annexation in 1924., the situation in the city visibly calmed down, which with the establishment of the Art Union meant a positive stimulus for the development of organized art and exhibition activities. The art scene is awakening in every sense, and with the arrival of young artists from various European studies, it is gaining a new, avant-garde current, in addition to the already existing traditionalists. Among them, certainly stood out the avant-garde quartet – R. Venucci, L. de Gauss, M. Arnold and M. Raicich, who shook up the art scene at the time. Along with art, there is an exhibition ascent, when under the organization of the Art Union of Kvarner are organized union exhibitions, but also interprovincial, national and international ones. In this way, artists were given the opportunity to be recognized on a larger art scene than the one in Rijeka, and the audience was given the opportunity to get acquainted with contemporary art tendencies. The biggest problem that accompanied the exhibition activity was the specialized exhibition space that Rijeka did not own, and although there was an initiative to establish a Gallery of Modern Art that would collect and exhibit works by Rijeka and Italian artists, it was not implemented.