Dimensions: 31.5 x 25.5 cm
On the reverse an oil study of church architecture, on the frame a sheet of paper described in the hand of the artist's daughter: 'Teresa of Herbsts Winklerowa | 1938r Warsaw'.
Origins
the artist's legacy
collection of the artist's family, Warsaw
private collection, Warsaw
Biography
Born on May 25, 1907 in Humań, Kiev Governorate. In 1923, he and a group of Polish children were sent to Poland, fleeing poverty, persecution and the Bolshevik invasion. At the age of 16, he found himself in an orphanage in Przysucha. He was brought to Warsaw by his aunt, Maria Gonzaga-Myszkowska. In 1924 he graduated from high school, and in 1927 he got a permanent job at the "Społem" cooperative. In 1931-34 he studied at the Warsaw School of Fine Arts, renamed the Academy in 1932. He came into contact with many lecturers there, but his mentor and favorite professor became Tadeusz Pruszkowski. Although Herbst did not join any of the groups formed on Pruszkowski's initiative, he remained in the circle of his strong influence. After graduation, he worked as a designer and painter in the advertising department of "Społem". In the 1930s, but also during the occupation, he painted a lot. He was also involved in playwriting, and shared this passion with his colleague, also a painter, Eugeniusz Chruścicki. In 1939 he was mobilized and took part in the September campaign. After returning from the front, he maintained a studio in Independence Avenue in Warsaw. He was married to Eugenia (née Styczynska), with whom he had two children, Teresa (b. 1934) and Jerzy Wojciech (b. 1939). He died on May 16, 1975 in Warsaw.
