Dimensions: 35.5 x 55.5 cm
Signed, dated and inscribed p.d.: 'Rafał Malczewski. 1943 | Canada'
on the reverse stamps of a framing company in New York and an auction sticker
Origin
Agra-Art, December 2012
private collection, Poland
Biography
Born in Cracow, he studied philosophy, architecture and agronomy in Vienna. His passion for painting and art was instilled in him by his father, Jacek Malczewski, a professor at Krakow's Academy of Fine Arts. In 1917, two years after graduating, Malczewski moved to Zakopane where he became a member of the artistic and intellectual elite. He joined the Podhale Art Society to support the idea of rooting Polish art in local folklore. Beginning in 1925, he created designs for stage settings for the Formist Theater. In 1930, he traveled to France where he returned after the outbreak of World War II by making his way through Slovakia, Hungary and Italy. In 1940 he fled to Brazil via Spain and Portugal, and after two years of painting views of Rio de Janeiro and Curitiba, he moved to the United States and settled in Montreal. He visited the landscapes of Canada and the United States profusely in search of inspiration for his paintings. In 1959, he visited Poland but, despite longing for his homeland, decided not to return permanently. A stroke he suffered in 1957 prevented Malczewski from continuing to paint in oil, but he continued to do watercolors. His last exhibition was held in 1964, and he died in Montreal a year later.
