October 1, 1933
The Brooklyn Museum which has already gained a wide reputation in the realm of Folk Art announces that from October 20th through November will feature a comprehensive and unusual program of Polish Folk and Modern Art. Supplementing the exhibition of arts and crafts there will be programs of music, dancing and lectures related to the exhibition.
The relationship of folk art and modern design will be illustrated in this exhibition. The beautiful weaving of the Modern Society of Young Polish Artists, known as Ead will be shown along with examples of traditionally designed peasant handicraft. The collection of Modern Woodcuts which reveals the distinctive artistic feeling of the Polish people, will be contrasted with a set of extremely rare old Polish woodcuts discovered a few years ago and of which only a very limited number of prints have been allowed. The creations of a number of craftsmen working in the old traditional style will also be exhibited, including the characteristic wood-carving, paper-cuts, and such forms of expression as these which have been handed down from father to son through many generations. Again for comparison there is wood-carving from the modern school at Zakopane and from the flourishing art schools of the country.
Polish life will be portrayed through the art connected with it. Costumes from the peasant centers - Lowicz, Krakow, Zakopane, Buculi, and Silesia will be shown for fascinating variety. Groups of handicraft will give the characteristic Polish interiors and show art used in embroidery, carving of utensils, and in home decoration. A feature will be a collection of gingerbread cookies in the form of actual statuettes of kings and queens of the seventeenth century when the molds were made in honor of their coronation. A collection of peasant toys and modern decorative toys will also be included.
The Polish artist and teacher, Marya Worten, will accompany the exhibition and will give a series of illustrated lectures for the public on the exhibition and the art of Poland. Miss Worten, will also be available for gallery talks to groups, clubs and classes, and will give intensive courses in Decorative Design.
The Exhibition, as well as the services of Miss Worten, have been provided by the International School of Art. The School plans a series of Polish months in a number of cities where the exhibition has been scheduled. The interest and support of Museums, Board of Education, and of prominent Poles and representatives of the Polish Government will be used to advance the understanding of the art of Poland. The exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum is its first showing in this country.
Brooklyn Museum Archives. Records of the Department of Public Information. Press releases, 1916 - 1930. 10-12_1933, 80. View Original
October 15, 1933
This week marks the opening of the great Exhibition of Traditional and Modern Polish Art to be shown at the Brooklyn Museum October 20th through November 23rd.
The following is taken from the forward to the catalogue:- “It was only when Poland regained her independence after the World War that plastic arts began developing rapidly. At the present moment Polish art is in full bloom, assuming a more and more distinctly national character.
This exhibition presented by the International School of Art does not aspire to represent Polish art as a whole. It can give but an idea of its diversity and high artistic level.
Polish painting is represented in the exhibition by two groups of artists. One of them, a group of four, represents artists of the older generation. The second group – The Brotherhood of St. Luke – together with the Warsaw School group, was organized in the Warsaw Academy of Art after the regaining of Poland’s independence.
Graphic art found a strong basis in the tradition of old Polish peasant woodcuts. The latter are a branch of Polish folk art which can compare favorably with those of other nations, thanks to the wealth and variety of its forms and its national originality.
In modern graphic art in Poland we see a great preponderance of woodcuts over lithographs and etchings. The development of woodcuts in Poland is connected with the creative and pedagogial activities of Wl. Skoozlas, professor of graphic art of the Warsaw Academy of Art. Nearly all the woodcutters taking part in this exhibition are pupils of Prof. Skoozlas. The diversity of their style is the best proof that they do not form a group distinguished by common mannerisms.
Commercial art is at the present moment on a high level of development. A small collection of other branches of commercial art besides poster, such as bookbindings, labels, dislomas and different advertisements, give an idea of the style and character of the taste of the Polish people, as well as of its artists.
Besides the above-mentioned groups, the exhibition includes the works of students of the Warsaw Academy of Art, and of several art schools in Poland. It is intended to give an idea of the tendencies and methods collection of peasant art which will serve not only to give some idea of the varied and fascinating forms of this traditional art, but will also demonstrate its influence on certain Polish artists”.
Among the various types of Polish art represented are: graphic art, commercial art, art for children, applied art, art schools, peasant art including men’s costumes and easter decorations; peasant woodcuts, paintings of “The Brotherhood of St. Luke” and work by the “Group of Four”.
Brooklyn Museum Archives. Records of the Department of Public Information. Press releases, 1916 - 1930. 10-12_1933, 083. View Original
October 20, 1933
In connection with the great Exhibition of Polish Old and Modern Art at the Brooklyn Museum, Miss Marya Werten will give a series of lectures on Thursday mornings at 10:30. The first one of these to be given on the 26th of October will be devoted to "Peasant Art'" and will be illustrated.
Miss Werten is head of the Polish division of the International School of Art, and teaches and lectures at the Warsaw Academy. She also heads a summer school at Zakopane. Miss Werten toured America last year and gave lectures at Minneapolis, Des Moines, Seattle and various other art centers in the United States.
These lectures are open to the public and teachers of art are urged to attend. The following Thursday, Miss Werten will discuss "The Developments of Art in the Last Century."
Brooklyn Museum Archives. Records of the Department of Public Information. Press releases, 1916 - 1930. 10-12_1933, 084. View Original
