The following catalogue presents Polish artifacts held by the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. Starting with Bronislaw Zaleski's prints and a 1901 painting by Olga Boznańska, through a rich set of prints from the interwar period and photographs documenting the traces of Polishness in Canada, to an avant-garde sculpture by Monika Sosnowska (2013). This set creates a dispersed picture of the presence of Polish culture in Canada. It is made up of gifts from artists and collectors as well as deliberate purchases by institutions.

Particularly noteworthy is the collection of woodcuts from the 1920s and 1930s (Goryńska, Konarska, Krasnodębska-Gardowska, Kulisiewicz, Skoczylas, Ostoja-Chrostowski), some of which came to the museum in 1932 in the form of gifts related to the Exhibition of Contemporary Polish Prints. They coexist with earlier etchings by Bronisław Zaleski, an artist-in-exile and witness to the 19th-century diaspora - and photographs by Jan Bułhak, as well as works that address the collective memory and politics of the monument (Christian Jankowski, Artur Żmijewski). This cross-section, enriched by Sosnowska's monumental 'Window', shows how Polish art negotiates identity between tradition and modernity.

Catalogue of objects

Painting

Olga Boznańska
"Portrait of a Woman"
1901
Painting
Oil on canvas
92.3 x 65.1 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 15256
Provenance: Gift of Henry P. Sedziak, Ottawa, 1967
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Sculpture

Monika Sosnowska
"The Window"
2013
Sculpture
Painted steel
310 x 270 x 160 cm, 515 kg
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 47042
Provenance: purchased 2017.
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Graphics

Edmund Bartłomiejczyk
"Girl with Goats"
1925
Graphics, print
Colour woodcut on vellum paper
28.2 x 23.5 cm; composition: 24 x 18 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. No. 4013
Provenance: Gift of the artist, 1932, from Exhibition of Contemporary Polish Prints
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Marja Dunin
"Madonna"
1926
Graphic, print
Colour woodcut on Japan type ribbed paper
38.6 x 27.7 cm; composition: 33.5 x 23.9 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. No. 4016
Provenance: Gift of the artist, 1932, from the Exhibition of Contemporary Polish Prints
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Wiktorja J. Goryńska
"Portrait of the Artist"
1929
Graphic, print
Stencil woodcut on Japan type ribbed paper
23 x 11.4 cm; composition: 18.7 x 8.6 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. No. 4019
Provenance: Gift of the artist, 1932, from the Exhibition of Contemporary Polish Prints
Reproduction on the website of the National Gallery of Canada

Wiktorja J. Goryńska
"Cat on Branch"
1927
Graphic, print
Stencil woodcut on Japan type ribbed paper
26.8 x 41.1 cm; composition: 17 x 27.7 cm irregular
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 4017
Provenance: Gift of the artist, 1932, from the Exhibition of Contemporary Polish Prints
Reproduction on the website of the National Gallery of Canada

Wiktorja J. Goryńska
"Cat" (Cat)
1929
Graphic, print
Two-colour woodcut black and yellow on Japan type ribbed paper
30.5 x 25.5 cm; composition: 25.5 x 13 cm irregular
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 4018
Provenance: Gift of the artist, 1932, from the Exhibition of Contemporary Polish Prints
Reproduction on the website of the National Gallery of Canada

Janina Konarska
"Sheep Shearing, Poland"
1938
Graphic, print
Stencil woodcut in black, yellow and white on satin paper
44 x 35 cm; composition: 33.9 x 27.9 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 5160
Provenance: purchased 1945.
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Janina Konarska
"St. Genevieve"
1926-1927
Graphic, print
Colour woodcut on satin paper
53.4 x 38.4 cm; composition: 35.5 x 26.6 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 4020
Provenance: Gift of the artist, 1932, from the Exhibition of Contemporary Polish Prints
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Bogna Krasnodebska-Gardowska
"Station of the Cross, X"
1926-1928
Print, print
Colour woodcut on Japan-type ribbed paper
40.4 x 32.6 cm; composition: 36 x 27.9 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 4021
Provenance: gift of the artist, 1932, from the Exhibition of Contemporary Polish Prints
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Tadeusz Kulisiewicz
"Hill Village"
before 1932
Graphic, print
woodcut on Japan type ribbed paper
23.7 x 27.3 cm; composition: 19.8 x 22.4 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 4022
Provenance: Gift of the artist, 1932, from "Exhibition of Contemporary Polish Prints"
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Stefan Mrozewski
"Church in Mnichow"
1941
Graphic, print
woodcut on Japan type ribbed paper
42 x 48 cm; composition: 25.4 x 29.3 cm irregular
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 14502
Provenance: Purchased 1964
Source : National Gallery of Canada

Stanislaw Ostoja-Chrostowski
"The Flight into Egypt"
1930.
Graphic, print
woodcut on Japan type ribbed paper
24.9 x 28.9 cm; composition: 18.4 x 17.9 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. No. 4014
Provenance: Gift of the artist, 1932, from the Exhibition of Contemporary Polish Prints
Reproduction on the website of the National Gallery of Canada

Stanislaw Ostoja-Chrostowski
"Nude"
1930
Graphic arts, print
woodcut on Japan type ribbed paper
13.6 x 19.8 cm; composition: 10.4 x 14 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 4015
Provenance: Gift of the artist, 1932, from "Exhibition of Contemporary Polish Prints"
Reproduction on the website of the National Gallery of Canada

Stanisław Raczyński
"Views of Polish Towns"
ca. 1930.
Print, print
Portfolio, in cardboard cover, containing 10 woodcuts on satin paper
cover: 29.5 x 22 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 39179.1-10
Provenance: Gift of Wanda Johnson, Ottawa, 1997.
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Stanislaw Raczynski
"Town Hall, Breslau"
ca. 1930.
Graphic, print
Woodcut on satin paper
29.5 x 22 cm; composition: 22.2 x 16.3 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 39179.1
Provenance: Gift of Wanda Johnson, Ottawa, 1997.
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Stanislaw Raczynski
"Cathedral, Delphin"
ca. 1930.
Graphic, print
Woodcut on satin paper
29.5 x 22 cm; composition: 22 x 16.3 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 39179.2
Provenance: Gift of Wanda Johnson, Ottawa, 1997.
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Stanislaw Raczynski
"Cracow"
ca. 1930
Print, print
Woodcut on satin paper
29.5 x 22 cm; composition: 23.3 x 16 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 39179.3
Provenance: Gift of Wanda Johnson, Ottawa, 1997.
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Stanislaw Raczynski
"Old Town Hall, Torun"
ca. 1930.
Graphic, print
Woodcut on satin paper
29.5 x 22 cm; composition: 22 x 16.5 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 39179.4
Provenance: Gift of Wanda Johnson, Ottawa, 1997.
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Stanislaw Raczynski
"Cathedral, Gdansk"
ca. 1930.
Graphic, print
Woodcut on satin paper
29.5 x 22 cm; rebound: 23 x 16.5 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 39179.5
Provenance: gift of Wanda Johnson, Ottawa, 1997.
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Stanislaw Raczynski
"Warsaw"
ca. 1930.
Print, print
Woodcut on satin paper
29.5 x 22 cm; composition: 22 x 16.5 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 39179.6
Provenance: Gift of Wanda Johnson, Ottawa, 1997.
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Stanislaw Raczynski
"Cracow"
ca. 1930
Print, print
Woodcut on satin paper
29.5 x 22 cm; composition: 22 x 16.5 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 39179.7
Provenance: Gift of Wanda Johnson, Ottawa, 1997.
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Stanisław Raczyński
"Lublin"
ca. 1930
Print, print
Woodcut on satin paper
24 x 16.5 cm; composition: 22 x 16.5 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 39179.8
Provenance: Gift of Wanda Johnson, Ottawa, 1997.
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Stanislaw Raczynski
"Parish Church, Kazimier"
ca. 1930.
Graphic, print
Woodcut on satin paper
24 x 16.5 cm; composition: 22.2 x 16 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 39179.9
Provenance: Gift of Wanda Johnson, Ottawa, 1997.
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Stanislaw Raczynski
"Lowicz"
ca. 1930.
Print, print
Woodcut on satin paper
24 x 16.5 cm; composition: 23.5 x 14.5 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 39179.10
Provenance: Gift of Wanda Johnson, Ottawa, 1997.
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Władysław Skoczylas
"Old Hamlet"
1929
Graphic, print
Stencil woodcut on satin paper
28.5 x 38.7 cm; composition: 23 x 32.4 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 4023
Provenance: Gift of the artist, 1932, from the Exhibition of Contemporary Polish Prints
Reproduction on the website of the National Gallery of Canada

Kasimierz Wiszniewski
"St. Christopher"
1930
Graphic, print
Woodcut in colour on Japan type ribbed paper
26.9 x 20.2 cm; composition: 20 x 19.2 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 4024
Provenance: Gift of the artist, 1932, from "Exhibition of Contemporary Polish Prints"
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Bronislaw Zaleski
"Part of the Coliseum, Rome"
1 August 1864
Print, print
Etching on ribbed paper
52.4 x 35.6 cm; plate: 29.2 x 21.8 cm; composition: 27.8 x 19.1 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 23702.119
Provenance: purchased 1979
Reproduction on National Gallery of Canada website
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Bronislaw Zaleski
"Châteaubriand's Tomb, Saint-Malo" (Châteaubriand's Tomb, Saint-Malo)
1 March 1865
Print, print
Etching with tonal plate on ribbed paper
52.7 x 35.8 cm; plate: 30.8 x 22.3 cm; composition: 27.3 x 21.3 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 23702.154
Provenance: purchased 1979
Reproduction on National Gallery of Canada website
Source : National Gallery of Canada

Bronislaw Zaleski
"A Reading Lesson in Orenbourg"
1 February 1866
Print, print
Etching with tonal plate on ribbed paper
52.7 x 35.5 cm; plate: 31.7 x 23.9 cm; composition: 26 x 20.9 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 23702.207
Provenance: purchased 1979
Reproduction on National Gallery of Canada website
Source : National Gallery of Canada

Photograph

Jan Bulhak
"Canadian Pacific Railway Office, Vilna, Poland"
ca. 1922
Photograph
Silver-gelatin print
11.4 x 14.8 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 41677
Provenance: Gift of Geoffrey Morrow and Margaret Spence, Ottawa, 2004
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Jan Bulhak
"Canadian Pacific Railway Office, (Brest?), Poland"
ca. 1922.
Photograph
Silver-gelatin print
15 x 12 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 41678
Provenance: Gift of Geoffrey Morrow and Margaret Spence, Ottawa, 2004
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Jan Bulhak
"Canadian Pacific Railway Office, (Brest?), Poland"
ca. 1922.
Photograph
Silver-gelatin print
15 x 12 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 41678
Provenance: Gift of Geoffrey Morrow and Margaret Spence, Ottawa, 2004
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Jan Bulhak
"Canadian Pacific Railway Office, Krakow, Poland"
ca. 1922.
Photograph
Silver-gelatin print
22.1 x 15.3 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 41679
Provenance: Gift of Geoffrey Morrow and Margaret Spence, Ottawa, 2004
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Kloch & Dutkiewicz
"Baroness Ellen von Krudener" (Baroness Ellen von Krüdener)
before 1870.
Photograph
Silver print on albumen paper
9.3 x 5.9 cm vignette
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 34993.42
Provenance: purchased 1972
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Rzymkowski
"Portrait of a Soldier"
ca. 1860
Photograph
Silver print on albumen paper
9.2 x 5 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 34992.34
Provenance: Gift of Estate of Frank C.C. Lynch, Ottawa, 1967
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Orest Semchishen
"Two Immigrant Polish Priests, Lac Ste. Anne, Alberta" (Two Immigrant Polish Priests, Lac Ste. Anne, Alberta)
July 1990.
Photograph
Silver-gelatin print
27.9 x 35.5 cm; composition: 22.5 x 29.1 cm
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 2002.87
Provenance: Gift of the artist, Edmonton, 2001
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Other media

Christian Jankowski
"Heavy Weight History"
2013
Temporal media
Multimedia installation (digital video), 25:46 minutes
Variable dimensions
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 46318
Provenance: purchased 2014.
Source: National Gallery of Canada

For this installation, Jankowski invited a group of former Olympic weightlifters to take part in a performance involving historic monuments of Warsaw. Mimicking the format of the television programme Wide World of Sports, popular Polish sports commentator Michal Olszanski accompanies the athletes, providing 'live' coverage of their attempts to lift more sculptures. Through both successful and - more often - unsuccessful efforts and the athletes' reflections, the weight of each statue's significance fluctuates between fact and anecdotal testimony.

Artur Zmijewski
'Them' (They)
2007.
Time media
DVD, 26:30 minutes
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Inv. no. 42488
Provenance: purchased 2009.
Source: National Gallery of Canada

Monika Sosnowska (plastyczka, autorka instalacji; Polska)(preview), Wiktoria Goryńska (malarka, graficzka; Polska)(preview), Stefan Mrożewski (grafik, malarz; Polska, Francja, USA)(preview), Olga Boznańska (malarka; Polska, Francja)(preview), Władysław Skoczylas (malarz, grafik, rzeźbiarz; Polska)(preview), Jan Brunon Bułhak (fotograf; Polska)(preview), Edmund Bartłomiejczyk (grafik, nauczyciel akademicki; Polska)(preview), Maria Dunin-Piotrowska (rzeźbiarka, graficzka; Polska)(preview), Janina Konarska-Słonimska (malarka, graficzka, ilustratorka; Polska)(preview), Stanisław Raczyński (malarz, grafik, scenograf; Polska, Włochy, Francja)(preview), Bronisław Zaleski (działacz społeczny, pisarz, publicysta, malarz, grafik; Polska, Białoruś, Francja)(preview), Ferdynand Kloch (fotograf; Polska)(preview), Melecjusz Dutkiewicz (fotograf; Polska)(preview), Marceli Feliks Rzymkowski (fotograf; Polska)(preview), Artur Żmijewski (artysta multimedialny; Polska)(preview)

Daria Przybylińska