Among the purchased artworks, the biggest group are those by respected Polish artists active in the 20th and 21st century like Alicja Halicka, Łukasz Korolkiewicz, Maria Pinińska-Bereś, Przemysław Matecki and Maurycy Gomulicki. Their collection of European art has been enriched by graphic works by the outstanding French artists Pierre Bonnard (Trottins, the etching) and Henri Toulouse-Lautrec (lithography: Miss May Belfort Taking A Bow). The collections also now contain precious historical treasures from private collections: a collection of Janusz Przewłocki’s photography with photos from Polish ateliers from the 19th and start of the 20th century; a unique collection of pictures by Konrad Brandel vividly presenting life in 19th-century Warsaw; and photos documenting the creation of the famous Racławice Panorama.
The National Museum in Warsaw from the beginning of its inception has been enriched by gifts from private donors and institutions. One of the gifts is a group of ancient artefacts collected by the archaeologist Professor Wiktor Andrzej Daszewski . Among them are elements of terra sigillata vessels sporting relief decorations, as well as examples of Gnathia ceramics and mummy masks from Ancient Egypt.
Thanks to gifts from private people and remittances from the National Bank of Poland, the museum’s numismatic collections have also been enlarged. An exceptionally interesting example is a Gdańsk coin with the image of King Zygmunt Vasa III from 1623 (a gift from Muhittin Acar through mediation from the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Istanbul). In addition, the collections were enriched by gifts from Monika Dillon, such as a painting by Józef Brandt of Jewish people leading horses to market, and from Leszek and Krystyna Missala from Canada, who gave paintings by Rafał Malczewski and Artur Nacht-Samborski.
The museum’s collections were enlargened also by artworks given by the artists themselves: a painting by Ireneusz Pierzgalski inspired by Tachism as well as two canvases by Stefan Gierowski. Thanks to a recent exhibition at Królikarnia Palace, the collections were complemented by more precious gifts: sculptures by Maria Papa Rostkowska and Zbigniew Libera’s work Polish Wunderteam. The Łukaszewicz Family gave output from Michael Roubie, the painter from Vilnius, including graphics, drawings and designs.
The exhibition also includes many examples of Polish design. Sofas from the Blow Extreme collection by the Malafor studio (a gift from co-creator Agata Kulik-Pomorska), as well as porcelain vessels called Otoczaki (Encirclers) designed by Bogdan Kosak (given by the designer himself).
Thanks to the efforts of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, often with the support of many organisations and private people, the museum has regained artworks lost during the last world war. Among those deserving special attention: The Portrait of a Young Man by Krzysztof Lubieniecki from 1728, a painter born in Szczecin before living in Amsterdam, and The Baptism of the Ethiopian Queen’s Courtier by the 18th-century German painter Johann Conrad Seekatz, who was active in the Darmstadt court.
A collection of paintings by Polish artists stands out among the war-time losses returned to the museum (including the likes of Aleksander Orłowski, Kazimierz Wojniakowski, Juliusz Kossak and Zygmunt Vogel) from collections bought before the Second World War by Dominik Witek-Jeżewski, a brilliant art collector. Artworks by Polish graphic designers were regained as well: by Ignacy Łopieński and lithographic masterpieces by Leon Wyczółkowski (one with a dedication to the museum from the artist).
Priceless: Recent Acquisitions at the National Museum in Warsaw
17th November 2016 – 12th February 2017
Curator: Piotr P. Czyż