Witold CHOMICZ, PAPER MILL IN GREAT PRIDE

Print, paper; 24 x 26.5 cm At the bottom, dedication in pen: To His Lordship Mieczysław Ptaśniak, Director, offers WChomicz.
Estimate 240 - 250
Auction 222, 13.05.2023
Witold CHOMICZ 1910 Kiev - 1984 Cracow.
Painter, graphic artist. From 1920 to 1927 he lived in Lublin, where he studied at the Jan Zamoyski Gymnasium. He began to create under the influence of his acquaintance with Jozef Czechowicz. He had his first exhibition at the Lublin Museum. From 1927 he studied at the State School of Decorative Arts and Artistic Industry in Cracow. He belonged to the Horned Heart Strain and was friends with its founder Stanislaw Szukalski. From 1934 he was a lecturer at the State Institute of Visual Arts, and from 1950 a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow. He was primarily interested in applied graphics, mainly for books. He participated in many competitions for posters, leaflets, which he often won. He trained many outstanding illuminators. He painted oil paintings, created woodcuts (he wanted to revive the tradition of folk woodcuts), stained glass designs. He was inspired by folk art and Cracow folklore. He was heavily involved in the cultural life of Krakow and created works inextricably linked to the city and its traditions. For several decades he was associated with the Academy of Fine Arts and was intensely active in Krakow's artistic community. He expressed his interest in the history and culture of the city in his social activities: he sat on the jury of competitions of Cracovian nativity scenes, organized exhibitions on regional themes, designed clothing for the annual Lajkonik parade, as well as commemorative prints on the occasion of celebrations of the most important events in the city's history.