In the 1960s and 1970s London was a source of new artistic currents, ideas and talent. The counterpoint was the Poles reaching the Isles with nostalgic images of their lost homeland, horrifying images of the cruelty of war bearing witness to great adversity. A long-awaited catalogue of Polish art from the London collection of Matthew Bateson is being produced.

The collection of the British collector Matthew Bateson contains numerous works by Polish artists: painters, sculptors and printmakers, who created after 1939 in Great Britain and other countries. The collection of Polish art was assembled over nearly 30 years. It was acquired at auction or directly from artists.

As part of its research into the art of Polish artists working in exile in the 20th century, the POLONIKA Institute commissioned Prof. Jan Wiktor Sienkiewicz to compile an authoritative catalogue, annotated with comments, of all the polonica from this private collection. The author comprehensively discusses the nature of the collection and presents its contributors who, for various reasons, ended up in the Islands after the Second World War.

Prof. J.W. Sienkiewicz singled out twenty-six Polish artists - painters, printmakers, sculptors and ceramists - in the London collection. The catalogue (also in English), which is being prepared for publication, presents the most interesting works of Stanisław Frenkel - the largest homogeneous collection in the Bateson Collection. Also important to it are compositions by Feliks Topolski and works by Marian Bohusz-Szyszka, Jankiel Adler, Janina Baranowska, Marek Żuławski and Marian Kratochwil. In total, there are 171 works. Highlights of the London collection include Flight of the Winged People (1973) by Stanislaw Frenkel, Head of a Bergundian Villager (1953) by Josef Herman, Christ in Warsaw (c.1939) by Henryk Gotlib and Old England (1945) by Feliks Topolski. In addition, Matthew Batson also has Polish ceramic compositions - among the most interesting are works by Stanisław Reychan. The entire catalogue will be complemented by 171 photographs that best characterise the artists' work and the collection itself. In addition to the material for publication, a full photographic documentation (1178 photographs) has been prepared, presenting the entire collection and individual paintings, including the authors' signatures. The publication of the catalogue 'Polish Art in the Matthew Bateson Collection' will appear in 2020 in book form.