Dimensions: 53 x 28 x 27 cm
Signed on the edge: 'Karny'
Origin
legacy of Eugeniusz Żarkowski
Biography
Polish sculptor. He portrayed prominent Polish (Mikolaj Copernicus, Aadam Mickiewicz, Jozef Pilsudski) and foreign figures. His granite and bronze sculptures received gold medals at exhibitions in Paris and Brussels. In 1920 he enlisted in the army of General Jozef Haller. In 1923, he settled in Warsaw. In 1924, he began studying at the Warsaw School of Fine Arts under Tadeusz Breyer. In 1925, Karny's sculptures were presented at an exhibition of works by art students at the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts in Paris. After graduation, in 1930, the artist received a scholarship to travel to France, Germany and Belgium. In 1939, Karny's sculptures were exhibited in London and later in New York - from where they never returned due to the outbreak of World War II. In September 1939, the artist's studio, along with his sculptural works, was burned during the bombing of Warsaw. After the war, Karny created in the spirit of Polish Socialist Realism. However, his works from this period, although they took up the themes that were desired at the time, stylistically they did not deviate far from the forms that were constituted in the artist's work in the 1930s. In 1949 he was given a studio in Warsaw on Wiejska Street. In 1960 the sculptor set up a summer studio for himself in Gdansk, where he went every year during the summer. In 1963, the first individual exhibition of Alphonse Karny's works was held - a traveling show of his sculptures.
