Paintings and drawings by Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz can be seen at this address:
https://muzeumtatrzanskie.pl/wirtualne-galerie/witkacy-u-fedorowiczow/
The Tatra Museum holds over 90 paintings and drawings by Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz (Witkacy) in its collections. Meanwhile, the Photographic Archive of our institution boasts the largest number of glass negatives by Witkacy (approx. 300). https://muzeumtatrzanskie.pl/portal/
The Art Department's collection contains mostly portraits made with pastels – 72. The collection also includes one portrait drawn with charcoal and a unique oil painting on canvas depicting a highlander. It also includes one oil landscape on canvas, two oil sketches on cardboard, and a stamp and vignette design for the Theatre Society, made with pencil and ink. This rich collection is complemented by 13 small drawings made with pencil, crayon, and ink. The collection was gradually created, starting with the portrait of Stanisław Witkiewicz gifted to the Tatra Museum in 1957 by Maria Witkiewiczówna (daughter of Jan Witkiewicz – brother of Stanisław Witkiewicz) along with archives – documents and photographs. The uniqueness of the Tatra Museum's collection lies precisely in the fact that it is built mainly from objects acquired from the original owners or their family members. These were people closely connected with Zakopane, also important to the artist himself.
In this virtual exhibition, we wish to present a part of the mentioned collection related to the Fedorowicz family. The paintings and archival photographs show the extraordinary friendship between colorful figures during the interwar period – the artist and the meteorologist (Józef Fedorowicz). Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz was a frequent guest at the Fedorowicz household, portraying the hosts and their family and friends.
At the beginning of the 21st century, the Tatra Museum acquired 20 Witkacy works originally belonging to Józef and Zofia Fedorowicz, including 18 pieces from the daughters of the famous Zakopane meteorologist. This is how the sisters explained the sale of Witkacy's paintings to the Zakopane institution: “The portraits come from Józef Fedorowicz's pre-war, much larger collection. Witkacy, having maintained a close friendship for 17 years, repeatedly portrayed Józef Fedorowicz and his immediate family on his own initiative. By placing the Witkacy portraits we possess in the Tatra Museum gallery, we wish to fulfill the will of our father Józef Fedorowicz, who towards the end of his life asked us very much to ensure that his beloved Witkacy collection would not become dispersed.”
This exhibition is not only a presentation of unique works by Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, a depiction of the extraordinary friendship with the Fedorowicz family, but also a remembrance of Julitta Fedorowicz-Stopa, who passed away in January 2021, probably the last model of Witkacy.
/Source Tatra Museum