At our June auction, we are delighted to present a masterpiece of Polish modernism and one of the most significant examples of Japonism in Polish art – Józef Pankiewicz’s 'Japonka'. This is one of three versions the artist painted between 1906 and 1908, shortly after taking up a professorship at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. The second found its way into the collection of Feliks “Manggha” Jasieński and, along with his entire collection, was donated to the National Museum in Kraków. The third is considered lost. Wanda Lublińska, whom the artist married in 1908, remained with the painting, amidst props borrowed from Jasieński’s collection.


We also present works by the most important artists of Young Poland, including Leon Wyczółkowski, Olga Boznańska, Jacek Malczewski, Józef Mehoffer and Tadeusz Makowski, whose work reflected modern trends in European painting. A significant part of the catalogue consists of works by female artists, including ‘Ryfka’ by Anna Bilińska, two paintings by Mela Muter, ‘Flowers in a Vase’ by Olga Boznańska, ‘Self-Portrait’ by Otolia Kraszewska, and a rare example of Helena Het Kwiatkowska’s work on the market, ‘Portrait of Miss J.’. The selection is complemented by works by artists of the Paris School, including Eugeniusz Zak, Mojżesz Kisling, Roman Kramsztyk, Henryk Hayden and Włodzimierz Terlikowski, as well as 19th-century paintings by Henryk Siemiradzki, Aleksander Kotsis, Henryk Piątkowski, Franciszek Żmurka and Antoni Piotrowski.