Art Collections
PRCUA Building, Home of the PMA
Initially, the Museum of the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America
was focused chiefly on the gathering of historical materials, but
changed its profile in 1941when it came into possession of exhibits
from the Polish Pavilion at the New York World’s Fair of 1939–1940.
Paintings, graphics, sculptures, and objects of artistic
craftsmanship were a significant component of this exposition. Their
arrival began the collection of art, which expanded systematically
by way of purchases and donations. At present, they may be separated
into several large groups: the above-mentioned exhibits from the New
York World’s Fair of 1939–1940; the paintings and graphics of the
People’s Republic of Poland; Polish posters of the 20th century; and
the art of individuals whose work consists of 20 or more creations
each: Władysław T. Benda, Marian Kratochwil, Stefan Mrożewski,
Michał Rekucki, and Maria Werten.
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Since 1851, when the Great Exposition of Commerce of All the
Nations was held in London, international exhibitions have been
organized every several years as a review of the latest attainments
of civilization. One such event was organized in New York in 1939
and 1940,
in which Poland participated. The Polish Pavilion was designed by
Jan Cybulski, Jan Galinowski, Felicjan Szczęsny Kowarski. It
consisted of twelve rooms, each with its own theme: The Past and
Future of Poland; Art; Applied Art; Science; Communications; Poland
at Sea; Social Welfare; Manufactured Products; Agriculture;
Textiles; Folk Art; and Forestry.
The outbreak of World War II on September 1, 1939 prevented the return of exhibits to
Poland. Through the efforts of the PRCUA President, Joseph L. Kania, and
its Museum Director, Miecislaus Haiman, an agreement was reached between
the PRCUA Board of Directors and Stefan Ropp, General Commissioner of
the Polish Department, for the Museum to purchase artifacts for $24,000,
to receive some as gifts, and to hold others on deposit for the Polish
Government in London and for private individuals. The acquisitions were
readied for viewing by the public on Polish Constitution Day, May 3,
1941, in Chicago.
The assembly of items delivered from the Polish Pavilion to the
Museum constitutes a most varied collection. Its elements can fill
several rooms: objects of modern art; the works of all sections of
applied art; musical instruments; folk art; photographs; models of
Polish monuments; reproduction of relics (doors of Gniezno Cathedral,
globe from Jagellonian University in Krakow); as well as miniature
sailing ships, steamships and planes flying Poland’s colors, and
locomotives and coal barges manufactured in Polish factories. In
conjunction with the 70th anniversary of the Polish Pavilion, two
members of the PMA staff took part in a conference held in Warsaw in
November of 2009.
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The settlement concerning the furnishings of the Polish Pavilion of
the 1939–1940 New York World’s Fair concluded in 1941 by Stefan Ropp,
General Commissioner of the Polish Department at the Fair, acting on
behalf of the Polish Government in London, with representatives of
the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America, was accepted and
approved by the People’s Republic of Poland in 1966. In celebration
of the 1,000th anniversary of Poland’s Acceptance of
Christianity, on October 7, the Government of Poland transmitted the
deed for transfer of property to the Polish Museum of America in
Chicago: “1. Exhibits, the property of the Polish government,
displayed in 1939 at the World’s Fair in New York, and after the
liquidation of the Polish Pavilion at this Fair, deposited by the
Commissioner of the Pavilion, Mr. S. Ropp, in the Polish Museum of
Chicago. 2. Twenty oil paintings and fifty-six plates of graphics by
Polish artists,” that is works created in 1945–1966. The selection
of authors and art was made by the National Museum in Warsaw on the
recommendation of the Ministry of Culture and Art. It was comprised
of artists representing diverse trends while at the same time
providing a full range of the characteristics typical of painting
and graphic art of the first twenty years after World War II.
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The collection of posters in the Polish Museum of America is most
interesting due to its variety. The oldest posters date back to
World War I. Many of them were designed by Władysław T. Benda and
printed in the United States in conjunction with the campaign
undertaken by Ignacy Jan Paderewski on behalf of Poland and the
Poles in America. A significant part of the collection comes from
the period between the wars, covering the entire range:
informational, propaganda, and commercial; and all of the mediums of
the artists: fine arts, architecture, and photography. The Museum
has preserved a poster collection of historical value from World War
II, issued by the Bureau of Propaganda and Information of the
government-in-exile in London, and by other Polish organizations
active abroad. The largest part of the collection is the post-war
Polish Poster, generally recognized and highly prized, created by
Tadeusz Gronowski and Tadeusz Trepkowski, and also by Roman
Cieślewicz, Janusz Grabiański, Jan Lenica, Jan Młodożeniec,
Franciszek Starowieyski, Waldemar Świerzy, and others.
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Władysław Teodor Benda (1873–1948), painter, scenographist, and
illustrator, was born in Poznań and died in New York. Many of
Benda’s works were destroyed in a fire in the Polish library and
museum of the Polish National Alliance College in Cambridge Springs,
Pennsylvania, in 1931. However, nearly 100 posters and over 10 of Benda’s pastels,
gouaches, watercolors and drawings are preserved in the PMA. They
present a variety of themes, beginning with inanimate nature,
portraits of women, a drawing titled
A Phantom in the Mountains, and
ending with historical subjects (the most numerous of his works). Posters relating to World War I constitute a large collection. Two masks by Benda of the face of
Helena Modrzejewska (Modjeska),
a relative of the artist, previously displayed
on mannequins dressed in stage costumes from the first and fourth acts
of the drama,
Mary Stuart, by Friedrich Schiller, are also in the
collection. The PMA is
attempting to gather material from his period as a successful
commercial artist in the 1920's–1940's.
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Marian Kratochwil (1906–1997), painter, printmaker, was born in Kosów (now
in the Ukraine)
and died in London. Of the varied and extensive output of this
artist, the PMA collection possesses only a collection of
twenty-five war graphics which were created in 1941, 1943, and 1946,
during his stay in Scotland, and are a startling record of the
artist’s survival and reflection, recalling the September campaign (
Battle
at Kutno [1, 2],
Trenches,
Crime or Heroism),
shock on hearing news of the crimes perpetrated in Poland by Germans
and Russians (
Crime,
Massive Graves,
No End to
Crime), and lastly, the lot of homeless wanderers (
Exile,
Emigration).
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Stefan Mrożewski (1894–1975), graphic artist and painter, was born
in Częstochowa and died in Walnut Creek, CA. The PMA has forty
of Mrożewski’s graphics from various cycles of his creativity. The
earliest works emerged in Amsterdam in 1933–1934 (
Kolk in
Amsterdam,
Church of St. John in Poznań, and
The Last
Judgement); and in the following years, there appeared a
portrait of H. G. Wells (1936) exhibited at the New York World’s
Fair; posters from the series, “Legends of Warsaw” (1937–1938);
three illustrations of
The Divine Comedy, produced during the
war; graphics from the series on “Saints, Blessed and Holy” (1963);
and from the portfolio, “Ghetto of Warsaw” (1954–1956).
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Michał Rekucki (1884–1971), painter and sculptor, was born in Nowy
Targ, Podhale, and died in Krakow, however, his most creative period
was between the wars in Chicago. The PMA possesses about thirty of
this artist’s works, some of which were gifts from the artist, and
some which were given by others. The portraits are drawings, oil
paintings and sculptures. Three of the landscapes are of mountains
(one depicts the pond Morskie Oko /Eye of the Sea/ in the Carpathian
Mountains). There is a painting of the destroyer ORP “Błyskawica”
(Lightning). Among the portraits is one of PRCUA’s President, Joseph
L. Kania (canvas, oil); another of the first Director/Curator of the
Museum, Miecislaus Haiman (paper, chalk); and of Casimir Pulaski
(oil). There are two small sculptures, busts of Highlanders (plaster
of Paris).
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Maria Werten vel Wertenstein (1888–1949), painter, graphic
artist, designer, educator, was born in Warsaw and died in Los Angeles. Maria Werten’s collection was assigned to the PMA by
her friend, Irena Piotrowska, in
1945. It consists of nearly 400 objects, signed and unsigned,
part of them sealed with the stamp of the International School of Art, some of
which do not seem to be her own work. Almost half are
watercolors, drawings and lithographs of children—at work, at play, at prayer, and
in portraits (sometimes in folk costumes). At times they are the
prime actor of artistic fantasies, like the child as a butterfly
being lifted by a bird, or Boy Driving Away Demons. The other
numerically large section consists of applied graphics, namely
illustrations, informative posters, decorative paper for packing,
holiday greeting cards, postcards, posters publicizing the
International School of Art and the Toy Factory, “Gnom,” and the
wooden toys manufactured in this factory, most likely designed by
Maria Werten. Finally, there are three kinds of wallpaper. The
artist’s legacy is exhibited on occasion, but only in part, due to
lack of space in the Museum. The most recent such exhibit was “Art Déco—Poland.”
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THE GREAT HALL, THE ART GALLERY AND THE KINGS' ROOM
The central element of the Great Hall (formerly the ballroom of the
PRCUA, adapted for the needs of the Museum) is the painting,
Pulaski at Savannah (1933), by Stanislaw Kaczor Batowski
(1866–1946), which hangs on the south wall and measures 11’14” x 14’
9”. In 1933, this painting was displayed at Chicago’s World’s Fair,
and later, in the Chicago Art Institute. In 1939, it was purchased
by the Polish Women’s Alliance of America, then given to the Museum.
On either side of the Batowski painting are two allegorical
paintings by Jan Henryk Rosen (1891–1982). These monumental
compositions of mixed techniques with gilt cloth, decorated the Art
Room and the Science Room at the Polish Pavilion in New York.
One of the most important paintings by Wojciech Kossak (1856–1942)
hangs on the west wall:
Reminiscence of Childhood—Charge of the
Circassians down Krakowskie Przedmieście (1891). A notation below
the artist’s signature explains, “After the fire in the castle in Baltow
destroyed. Re-painted and restored in 1929.”
Dominating the Great Hall on the east side is a majestic stained
glass window, from floor to ceiling,
Symbol of Poland Reborn,
designed by Mieczysław Jurgielewicz and manufactured in 1939 in the
Krakow Factory of Stained Glass, Glazing, Mosaics, S. G. Żeleński. In
the center of the composition is the figure of a woman standing with a
sword and wheat, representing the obligation of a nation to defend and
provide for the people, surrounded by vignettes of Polish
cities and people performing all kinds of work, separated by two
perpendicular rows of thirty-two coats-of-arms of Polish towns. At the
bottom is the national symbol—a white eagle wearing a crown of gold.
This too was an element of the Polish Pavilion at the New York World’s
Fair.
Exhibition of Masters
Stanisław
Szukalski collaborated with Salvador Dali and inspired H. R. Giger.
Maria Werten taught illustrators from Walt Disney Studios. Jan
Henryk Rosen decorated churches in Washington and Chicago. Polish
artists - emigrants - found success in the United States. From
amongst 42 artists, 48 works spanning the years 1901-1947 have
been selected and are presented in the Stephen and Elizabeth Ann
Kusmierczak Art Gallery.
The works
of these distinguished artists - the most abundant representation
from the 1930s - show us the dominant trends in Polish art during
the Interwar Period, receiving awards both in Poland and abroad.
The world appreciated the freshness and originality, as well as
the supreme workmanship. The years 1918-1939 were characterized by
a variety of groups and artistic trends.
Olga
Boznańska's Madame Paris exemplifies post-impressionism;
Czesław Rzepiński painted in the manner of Polish colorism, as did
Tymon Niesiołowski, who belonged to the Warsaw group, Rytm.
Jan Zamoyski was connected with the artistic society, Bractwo
Św. Łukasza. Ludwik Tyrowicz was a member of the Ryt
Graphic Artist Association. Andrzej Pronaszko represented formism.
His simple stylistics, geometric slants, and influences of cubism
brought him close to Art Deco, similar to that of Michał Rouba.
The
paintings, sculptures, prints, and handicraft arts - originally
presented at the Polish Pavilion at the World's Fair in New York
in 1939-1940 - are the core of the art collection of The Polish
Museum of America (PMA). The outbreak of World War II prohibited
the return of the exhibits to Poland, and because of the
agreements between Stefan Ropp, General Commissioner of the Polish
Pavilion, Mieczysław Haiman, PMA Director, and Józef L. Kania,
PRCUA President, some items came to Chicago in 1941. It was just a
part of the 11,000 objects which were originally transported from
Poland to New York on the MS Batory and the MS Piłsudski
in 1939. The impressive presentations at the Polish Pavilion
and its spectacular success in the United States is best
represented by the monumental stained glass, Symbol Polski
odrodzonej [Symbol of Poland Reborn] designed by Mieczysław
Jurgielewicz, and displayed in the PMA Great Hall. It is one of
the largest secular stained glass works in the USA. The Gallery
displays a miniature stained glass by Alojzy Sawicki, which was
also exhibited at the Honorary Hall of the Polish Pavilion.
A valuable
source of the Interwar Period art at the PMA is the 1945 donation
by Maria Werten, artist and promoter of Polish art in the United
States. The expressive wooden sculptures from the Zakopane School
inspired by folklore are interesting examples of Polish Art Deco,
depicting the trend of defining a national style.
To
illustrate the various trends in Polish arts of the 20th century,
the Gallery presents paintings with historical themes from private
collections. The painters - Wojciech Kossak, Jerzy Kossak, and Jan
Styka - belong to two famous artistic families.
The
renovation of the Stephen and Elizabeth Ann Kusmierczak Art
Gallery, as well as the conservation of the most valued paintings,
was possible thanks to the generosity of Stephen Kusmierczak, a
successful Chicago investor with Polish roots, a graduate of
Princeton University, and a Fellow of the Kościuszko Foundation at
Jagiellonian University. The Gallery is named in the honor of
the major benefactor's parents. Additional finances for this
project were donated by friends of the Museum - including "Wspolnota
Polska" Association and the Consulate General of the Republic of
Poland in Chicago - who enabled the opening on November 4, 2011 of
this permanent exhibition of unique Polish art.
The last part of the Museum’s art collection is the “Kings’ Room,”
with interior decorations from the New York World’s Fair: paneling
with figures in bas-relief in folk costumes and stylized puttos, by
Stanisław Sikora, and a grating decorated with animal motifs. In
this room is a horse-drawn sleigh of wood from 1703—a gift from the
Chicago Foundation of John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur. It is
carved out of a single piece of wood in the shape of a powerful fish
with open jaws. The sleigh was a Christmas present from King
Stanisław Leszczyński for his daughter, Princess Maria, who became
the wife of Louis XV, King of France.
Please note! The Royal
Sleigh, meticulously conserved by Lukasz Belda in 2009, is now on
display in the space formerly housing the Modjeska exhibit. Also
included in this revised exhibit case are the portraits of all the
Polish kings who resided in Warsaw. The space will eventually
contain material about the history of Warsaw, Chicago's sister-city.
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