Jorge Lewinski
Encyclopedia
Jorge Lewinski was a Polish-British photographer and soldier.
Born in Lwow, Poland
(now Ukraine
), in 1921, Lewinski survived Russian occupation, internment
, and forced labour in Siberia
. After conscription
into the Polish army, he served with Allied forces in the Middle East
. In 1942, he was sent to Britain to join the RAF
, and afterwards settled.
In 1966, having developed a name for himself through the portraiture
of artists, he became the pre-eminent photographer of artists in Britain. Subjects included Francis Bacon
, LS Lowry, David Hockney
, Henry Moore
, Marcel Duchamp
, Peter Blake
, Pauline Boty
, Gilbert and George
, Barbara Hepworth
, William Pye, Fred Pollock, Bill Redgrave, Peter Lanyon
, Fe McWilliam, Alexander Katz, Marc Vaux
, Albert Irvin
, Maggi Hambling
, Kenneth Martin
, Sean Scully
, Bridget Riley
, Reg Butler
, Anthony Gormley, Julian Trevelyan
, Sheila Fell
, Allen Jones
, Richard Wilson
, and more.
Lewinski was Senior Lecturer at the London College of Printing from 1968 to 1982, and he was admired as both a teacher and a writer on photography.
He was married to Mayotte Magnus
, the photographer, and lived between England
and France
.
Born in Lwow, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
(now Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
), in 1921, Lewinski survived Russian occupation, internment
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
, and forced labour in Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
. After conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
into the Polish army, he served with Allied forces in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. In 1942, he was sent to Britain to join the RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, and afterwards settled.
In 1966, having developed a name for himself through the portraiture
Portrait photography
Portrait photography or portraiture is the capture by means of photography of the likeness of a person or a small group of people , in which the face and expression is predominant. The objective is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the subject...
of artists, he became the pre-eminent photographer of artists in Britain. Subjects included Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Albans, KC was an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, jurist, author and pioneer of the scientific method. He served both as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England...
, LS Lowry, David Hockney
David Hockney
David Hockney, CH, RA, is an English painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer, who is based in Bridlington, Yorkshire and Kensington, London....
, Henry Moore
Henry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA was an English sculptor and artist. He was best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art....
, Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp was a French artist whose work is most often associated with the Dadaist and Surrealist movements. Considered by some to be one of the most important artists of the 20th century, Duchamp's output influenced the development of post-World War I Western art...
, Peter Blake
Peter Blake (artist)
Sir Peter Thomas Blake, KBE, CBE, RDI, RA is an English pop artist, best known for his design of the sleeve for the Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. He lives in Chiswick, London, UK.-Career:...
, Pauline Boty
Pauline Boty
Pauline Boty was a founder of the British Pop art movement and Britain's only notable female Pop art painter. Boty's paintings and collages often demonstrated a joy in self-assured femininity and female sexuality, and expressed overt or implicit criticism of the "man's world" in which she lived...
, Gilbert and George
Gilbert and George
Gilbert & George are two artists who work together as a collaborative duo. Gilbert Proesch and George Passmore have become famous for their distinctive, highly formal appearance and manner and their brightly coloured graphic-style photo-based artworks.-Early life:Gilbert Proesch was...
, Barbara Hepworth
Barbara Hepworth
Dame Barbara Hepworth DBE was an English sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism, and with such contemporaries as Ivon Hitchens, Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson, Naum Gabo she helped to develop modern art in Britain.-Life and work:Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth was born on 10 January 1903 in Wakefield,...
, William Pye, Fred Pollock, Bill Redgrave, Peter Lanyon
Peter Lanyon
Peter Lanyon was a Cornish painter of landscapes leaning heavily towards abstraction. He also made constructions, pottery and collage....
, Fe McWilliam, Alexander Katz, Marc Vaux
Marc Vaux
Marc Vaux is a British artist who rose to prominence in the 1960s. His work was included in the seminal Situation exhibition of 1960 alongside Robyn Denny, William Turnbull Bernard Cohen among others...
, Albert Irvin
Albert Irvin
Albert Irvin is an English abstract expressionist painter.-Career:During World War II, he was evacuated from London, and upon returning, went to study at the Northampton School of Art between 1940 and 1941, before being conscripted into the Royal Air Force as a navigator...
, Maggi Hambling
Maggi Hambling
Maggi Hambling CBE is an English painter and sculptor. Perhaps her best known public works are a memorial to Oscar Wilde in central London and Scallop, a 4 metre high steel sculpture of two interlocking scallop shells on Aldeburgh beach dedicated to Benjamin Britten...
, Kenneth Martin
Kenneth Martin
Kenneth Martin was an English painter and sculptor who along with his wife Mary Martin and Victor Pasmore was a leading figure in the revival of Constructivism in Britain and America in the 1940s....
, Sean Scully
Sean Scully
Sean Scully is an Irish-born American painter and printmaker who has twice been named a Turner Prize nominee. His work is collected in major museums worldwide.-Life and work:...
, Bridget Riley
Bridget Riley
Bridget Louise Riley CH CBE is an English painter who is one of the foremost proponents of Op art.-Early life:...
, Reg Butler
Reg Butler
Reginald Cotterell Butler was an English sculptor. He studied and lectured at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London from 1937 to 1939. He was a conscientious objector during the Second World War, being exempted from military service conditional upon setting up a small...
, Anthony Gormley, Julian Trevelyan
Julian Trevelyan
Julian Otto Trevelyan, RA was a British artist and poet.Trevelyan was the only child of Robert Calverley Trevelyan and his wife Elizabeth van der Hoeven...
, Sheila Fell
Sheila Fell
Sheila Fell was an English artist. She was born at Aspatria, Cumberland in 1931, and although she lived in London for the greater part of her life, she devoted her career to painting and drawing places close to her place of birth...
, Allen Jones
Allen Jones (sculptor)
Allen Jones RA is a British pop artist, best known for his sculptures. He lives and works in London.Jones was born in Southampton and from 1955 to 1961 studied at the Hornsey College of Art...
, Richard Wilson
Richard Wilson (sculptor)
Richard Wilson is a sculptor, installation artist and musician.Born in Islington, in London, he studied at the London College of Printing, Hornsey College of Art and Reading University...
, and more.
Lewinski was Senior Lecturer at the London College of Printing from 1968 to 1982, and he was admired as both a teacher and a writer on photography.
He was married to Mayotte Magnus
Mayotte Magnus
Mayotte Magnus is a French-born photographer and Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society. She has exhibited at the Fonds national d'art contemporain , the National Portrait Gallery and the Institute of Contemporary Arts ....
, the photographer, and lived between England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.