Between 1917 and 1920, a Polish School of Fine Arts, founded by artists – our compatriots – operated in Kyiv. Admittedly, in such a short period the institution probably did not manage to develop its own style or establish a proper reputation, but its very existence was of great significance.

The school owes its establishment to two factors. Firstly, following the outbreak of the First World War, the authorities in St Petersburg began to adopt a more liberal stance towards the Kingdom of Poland. Secondly, thousands of Polish refugees from Galicia and the Kingdom poured into Kyiv, which meant an increasing need to open more and more new educational institutions.

Liberal St Petersburg
Following the outbreak of the Great War, which resulted in German troops advancing on many towns in the Kingdom of Poland, its inhabitants began to flee eastwards. Many of them settled in Kyiv. Although the figures are difficult to estimate, it can be assumed that around 90,000 of our compatriots from various social strata and of different ages found themselves in what was to become the capital of Ukraine. Schools, nurseries and crèches were opened for the children arriving in the city. In the 1917/1918 academic year, there were, amongst others, 12 secondary schools (attended by nearly 24,000 pupils), 7 vocational schools, 10 primary schools, 4 nursery schools and 4 Froebel kindergartens. Teaching in these institutions was usually conducted in Polish.

Furthermore, as early as August 1914, the authorities in St Petersburg began to declare their readiness to grant the Kingdom of Poland extensive autonomy following a victory over Germany. Admittedly, Nicholas II did not provide any specific details, despite some pressure from his foreign minister. In early 1917, the Tsar was on the verge of signing a document proclaiming the independence of the Kingdom of Poland, but he did not dare to do so. In March of that year, Nicholas II was forced to abdicate. Power was taken over by the Provisional Government, which, literally a few days after its formation, proclaimed the independence of the Polish territories that had once formed part of the Russian Empire. This decision led to a veritable proliferation of Polish schools and associations in Kyiv. Even higher education institutions began to spring up like mushrooms after rain: the Higher Polish Scientific Courses, the Polish University College, and the Polish Institute of Social Education. The only thing missing was an arts institution.

The Birth of the School of Fine Arts
Unfortunately, the limited number of sources does not allow us to reconstruct the history and functioning of this institution. Regrettably, the available data is often contradictory, which also makes it impossible to verify the facts presented therein. We should therefore focus on the profiles and activities of its founders, as it was they who determined the character of the school.

One of the institution’s founders was the painter and graphic artist Leon Kowalski (1870–1937), born in Kyiv. A graduate of the boys’ secondary school in Kyiv and a pupil of the renowned painter Nikolai Muraszko, a graduate of the St Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts and a true master of realist art, whose works were characterised by psychological depth and (in the Kingdom of Poland, he became famous for his iconostases in Orthodox churches). Muraszko often travelled throughout Europe, viewing the works of the great masters in Europe’s leading galleries. He maintained contact with Jan Matejko. In 1875, he opened a school of fine arts, where he taught for as long as 25 years.

Kowalski graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. He then lived in Europe for several years and held exhibitions at the Champs de Mars in Paris. Upon his return to Poland, he exhibited his paintings at venues including the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in Warsaw and the Society of Friends of Fine Arts in Kraków.

Towards the end of the first decade, he was a frequent visitor to Kyiv. He met with fellow artists, including Władysław Galimski (1860–1949) and Wilhelm Kotarbiński (1849–1921 or 1922). The former graduated from the St Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts, where one of his tutors was Pavel Vereshchagin himself. Kotarbiński, for his part, graduated from the Academy of St Luke in Rome (his studies were made possible by a scholarship from the Warsaw Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts). After spending several years abroad, he settled on his estate in the Slutsk district (now in Belarus). However, he frequently visited Kyiv, where, together with Mikhail Vasnetsov and Mikhail Vrubel, he worked on the decoration of St Vladimir’s Cathedral. His works were so well known in artistic circles that he was often compared to Henryk Siemiradzki.

In the 1890s, Galimski and Kotarbiński, together with several other Poles, founded a school of painting and drawing at 14 Lwowska Street. In 1917, when the independence of the Kingdom of Poland was proclaimed, the artists transformed it into the School of Fine Arts. Leon Kowalski also joined the teaching staff. Immediately after the school was established, Mieczysław Treter, a museum curator, editor and lecturer, took up a post there as a lecturer in art history (in 1918 he moved to Lviv).

The career paths of the individuals mentioned above, together with their in-depth education, attest to the fact that they were outstanding practitioners and theorists of art. Unfortunately, they were only able to share their knowledge for three years. They were forced to leave Kyiv and flee to Poland to save their own lives. Only Kotarbiński remained in the Ukrainian capital, where he died of exhaustion.