Piotr Abraszewski
Encyclopedia
Piotr Abraszewski was a Polish
painter born in Zamość
, Poland
. From 1928 to 1934 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw
with Professor M. Kotarbinski, and in 1935 he became Assistant Professor at the Academy. Between 1936 and 1939 he taught at the Academy and in other Warsaw
schools.
(see: Operation Tannenberg
) and forbade all higher education except for vocational ("useful") training. Abraszewski survived five different Nazi concentration camps, including the Wildflecken
Labor Camp and Mauthausen
, where he made minute sketches for the administration.
Unwilling to return to Communist-ruled Poland after the Second World War
, Abraszewski spent several years in Polish Displaced Persons camp
s in Germany
where he taught art to refugees. In 1949, Abraszewski arrived in San Francisco with his wife who also graduated from Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, and who also survived Nazi concentration camps. Piotr Abraszewski painted scenes of San Francisco in oil
and watercolor.
It was Piotr Abraszewski’s dream to paint fresco
es in churches and public buildings. In the mid-1950s he worked as a commercial artist at The Emporium. He was a member of the Western Artists Society. Several of his paintings were exhibited at the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum
in Golden Gate Park
.
When Mr. Abraszewski became a member of the Polish Arts and Culture Foundation (established in 1966 in San Francisco), he participated in historical exhibits, created hand-made signs still in use today and, with encouragement of the Foundation, exhibited his work.
He painted scenes of Europe
as well as a series of oils and watercolors of San Francisco. Several years before Mr. Abraszewski fell ill, ten of his favorite paintings were photographed and produced as postcards. Mr. Piotr Abraszewski died in 1992 (his wife preceded him in death by several years). In his will, Piotr Abraszewski donated his entire art collection to the Polish Arts and Culture Foundation. Some of these works are now in private collections.
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...
painter born in Zamość
Zamosc
Zamość ukr. Замостя is a town in southeastern Poland with 66,633 inhabitants , situated in the south-western part of Lublin Voivodeship , about from Lublin, from Warsaw and from the border with Ukraine...
, 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...
. From 1928 to 1934 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw
Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw
Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw is a public university of visual and applied arts located in the Polish capital. The Academy traces its history back to the Department of Arts founded at the Warsaw University in 1812. As a separate institution it was founded in 1844 during the Partitions of Poland...
with Professor M. Kotarbinski, and in 1935 he became Assistant Professor at the Academy. Between 1936 and 1939 he taught at the Academy and in other Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
schools.
World War II
When Nazi Germany attacked Poland on September 1, 1939, German Nazis began rounding up and killing the local intelligentsiaIntelligentsia
The intelligentsia is a social class of people engaged in complex, mental and creative labor directed to the development and dissemination of culture, encompassing intellectuals and social groups close to them...
(see: Operation Tannenberg
Operation Tannenberg
Operation Tannenberg was the codename for one of the extermination actions directed at the Polish people during World War II, part of the Generalplan Ost...
) and forbade all higher education except for vocational ("useful") training. Abraszewski survived five different Nazi concentration camps, including the Wildflecken
Wildflecken
Wildflecken is a municipality in the Bad Kissingen district, at the border of northeastern Bavaria and southern Hesse. In 2005, its population was 3,285; the postal code is 97772. Wildflecken is in the picturesque Rhön hills and nature-park....
Labor Camp and Mauthausen
Mauthausen
Mauthausen is a small market town in Upper Austria, Austria. It is located at about 20 kilometers east of the city of Linz, and has a population of 4,850 .During World War II, it became the site of the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp complex....
, where he made minute sketches for the administration.
Unwilling to return to Communist-ruled Poland after the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Abraszewski spent several years in Polish Displaced Persons camp
Displaced persons camp
A displaced persons camp or DP camp is a temporary facility for displaced persons coerced into forced migration. The term is mainly used for camps established after World War II in West Germany and in Austria, as well as in the United Kingdom, primarily for refugees from Eastern Europe and for the...
s in Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
where he taught art to refugees. In 1949, Abraszewski arrived in San Francisco with his wife who also graduated from Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, and who also survived Nazi concentration camps. Piotr Abraszewski painted scenes of San Francisco in oil
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
and watercolor.
It was Piotr Abraszewski’s dream to paint fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
es in churches and public buildings. In the mid-1950s he worked as a commercial artist at The Emporium. He was a member of the Western Artists Society. Several of his paintings were exhibited at the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum
M. H. de Young Memorial Museum
The M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, commonly called simply the de Young Museum, is a fine arts museum located in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. It is named for early San Francisco newspaperman M. H...
in Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, is a large urban park consisting of of public grounds. Configured as a rectangle, it is similar in shape but 20% larger than Central Park in New York, to which it is often compared. It is over three miles long east to west, and about half a...
.
When Mr. Abraszewski became a member of the Polish Arts and Culture Foundation (established in 1966 in San Francisco), he participated in historical exhibits, created hand-made signs still in use today and, with encouragement of the Foundation, exhibited his work.
He painted scenes of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
as well as a series of oils and watercolors of San Francisco. Several years before Mr. Abraszewski fell ill, ten of his favorite paintings were photographed and produced as postcards. Mr. Piotr Abraszewski died in 1992 (his wife preceded him in death by several years). In his will, Piotr Abraszewski donated his entire art collection to the Polish Arts and Culture Foundation. Some of these works are now in private collections.
See also
- The Holocaust in art and literatureThe Holocaust in art and literatureThere is a wide range of ways in which people have represented the Holocaust in popular culture.-Literature:Some of the more famous works are by Holocaust survivors or victims, such as Elie Wiesel, Primo Levi, Tadeusz Borowski, Jerzy Kosinski , Imre Kertész, Jean Améry, Edgar Hilsenrath, Anne...
- Playland (San Francisco)Playland (San Francisco)Playland was a seaside amusement park located next to Ocean Beach at the western edge of San Francisco, California along the Great Highway where Cabrillo and Balboa streets are now...
- San Francisco visual artsSan Francisco visual artsSan Francisco Bay Area contemporary art is known for its cross-disciplinary artists like Bruce Conner, Bruce Nauman, and Peter Voulkos as well as a large number of non-profit alternative art spaces including New Langton Arts, Intersection for the Arts, and Southern Exposure...
External links
- Elżbieta Gnyp: Piotr Abraszewski (1905-1996), listed in Table of Contents of the Zamojski Kwartalnik Kulturalny 2 (103) 2010