Antoni SUCHANEK (1901-1982), Ruins of Old Warsaw - U głuchoniemych, 1945

autolithography, paper 25 x 32 cm

Autolithography, paper; 25 x 32 cm; signed in pencil by the author under the composition; dated tit. on plate. Edition of 300 copies. Warsaw 1945.

Antoni Suchanek studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow under J. Mehoffer and T. Axentowicz in 1917-22, and then in Bydgoszcz under L. Wyczółkowski. Since 1925, he often stayed in Orlowo, at the same time running a studio in Warsaw. He was one of the founders of the Circle of Polish Mariners, as well as chairman of the Visual Arts Section of the Maritime and Colonial League. In 1926 he was a co-founder of the Union of Pomeranian Artists, and in 1937 of the ZZPAP in Gdynia. He was closely associated with Warsaw's Zachêta, where he hosted exhibitions from 1937 until the outbreak of war.
During World War II, he was imprisoned in a concentration camp. In 1946 he returned to Gdynia and settled in Orlowo. He created chronicles illustrating the rise from the ruins of the destroyed city (the Shipyard Builds series). He was an active participant in artistic life in the Tri-City, which resulted in the creation of the Group of Polish Marine Artists in the artistic cafe Cyganeria. He was supported in this by Marian Mokwa. He painted illustrations for many magazines published on the Coast.