Alicja HALICKA (1894 - 1975), Cubizing still life with oranges; second decade of the 20th century

mixed technique, (gouache, ink (?)), paper; 23 x 14.5 cm
signed p. d.: A. Halicka
(partially legible stamps on back)
Provenance: antiquarian purchase, private collection Silesia

Painter, illustrator, interior decorator, designer of stage sets for plays and ballets, author of the book "Yesterday", describing memories of the author's Parisian period and her husband, painter Louis Marcoussis.
She took painting and drawing lessons from Wyczółkowski, Weiss and Pankiewicz at the Maria Niedzielska School of Fine Arts for Women. In 1912 she continued her studies in Munich, then in Paris at the Académie Ranson.
In Paris, she was friends with Apollinaire, among others, and knew Georges Braque, André Breton, Max Ernst and Jean Arp. She maintained contacts with École de Paris artists Eugène Zak, Moïs Kisling, Kees van Dongen and Jules Pascin. In the 1920s she designed decorative textiles and wallpapers. She produced designs for major opera and ballet theaters in Europe and the United States. While in the United States, she collaborated with "Harper's Bazaar" and "Vogue" magazines and illustrated books. She exhibited her works in galleries in Paris, London, Warsaw, Naples, Bombay, Rome, Ankara and many others. She painted mainly portraits, landscapes and still lifes.
In the early stages of her career, Halitskaya's painting was fundamentally influenced by the aesthetics of Cubism. At the time, she produced portraits and still lifes with synthesized, geometric forms and narrow, dark color tones dominated by browns and grays.