At the dawn of the 20th century, London, Glasgow or Birmingham were centres of cultural life. Poles also found their way there in large numbers. The artists emigrating from Poland found solace in art and created valuable works, which can still be seen in renowned British galleries. Work is underway on a 'Dictionary of Polish Visual Artists Active Abroad in the 20th Century'.

The largest wave of Polish emigration to the Isles took place between 1933 and 1945. Among the emigrants were a very large group of artists from the Polish army withdrawing from the front, as well as Jews of Polish origin, such as Josef Herman and Jankiel Adler. Nearly 300 painters, sculptors and printmakers arrived in Britain at the time. Alone, often without the means to make a decent living, cut off from their families, struggling with depression and mental illness, unable to find their way in a new environment that was alien to them, they became part of British art history.

The influx of our artists also increased significantly in the second half of the century, with some resettling because of the deep trauma of the post-war period, and others with a better professional perspective in mind. Worthy of mention are such artistic personalities as Kazimierz Zielenkiewicz, Alicja Melamed Adams, Alfred Wolmark, Franciszek Black, Stanisława de Karłowska or Lena and Leopold Pilichowski. More often than not, it was only in Britain that they began their artistic education and made considerable efforts to establish themselves in hermetic artistic circles.

A very small group of Polish artists managed to join British art groups or exhibit their works in prestigious institutions (Royal Academy of Arts, Royal West of England Academy, Allied Artists Association, Federation of British Artists, Royal Society of British Artists, Free Painters and Sculptors, The Seven and Five Society or, finally, The London Group). One of the most important associations for artists of Polish origin was the APA (Association of Polish Artists in Great Britain), established in the mid-1950s. Prominent names appeared among the founders and its members: Piotr Potworowski, Marek Żuławski, Maciej Mars. In 1959, the famous London-based Grabowski Gallery was established, where Marian Bohusz Szyszko, Znicz Muszyński and Kazimierz Zielenkiewicz, among others, exhibited their works.

Polish researchers Dr Monika Szczygieł-Gajewska and Ewa Sobczyk - led by Prof. Dr Jan Wiktor Sienkiewicz - undertook to compile the British part of the 'Dictionary of Polish Visual Artists Active Abroad in the 20th Century'. On the basis of source research that has been ongoing since 2018, as well as information obtained from English heirs or owners of collections of outstanding works of art, catalogue biographies of Polish artists who left behind a cultural heritage that is important to us today in the British Isles are being created. The POLONIKA Institute plans to make the material available in its online database.