Polish Paintings Crown Sotheby's Sale
Nick Hodge | 8th October 2009

Paintings by Kossak, Wierusz-Kowalsk, and Chlebowski up for grabs

This month, Sotheby's New York is hosting a major sale of 19th century European Art, and an array of Polish masters will go under the hammer.

Six paintings from the estate of Dr. Eugene Slotkowski, a trustee of the Kościuszko Foundation and a prominent figure in émigré circles, are amongst the highlights of the 22 October sale.

Chief among the Slotkowski pictures is The Sword Dance by Henryk Siemiradzki, an artist who was laid to rest in the Crypt of Honour at Krakow's Church on the Rock. Famed for his remarkable painted stage curtains for the Słowacki Theatre in Krakow and the Opera House in Lwów (today Lviv), Siemiradzki continues to be a highly prized name in Polish museums.

Other gems from the Slotkowski sale include a spirited portrait of Napoleonic hero Prince Józef Poniatowski by Juliusz Kossak, The Race by Alfred von Wierusz-Kowalski, Stanisław Chlebowski's The Circassian Guards and Józef Chelmonski's Four House Wagon on a Rainy Day.

The six paintings are expected to fetch within the region of 600,000-800,000 dollars.

Photo: Detail of General Poniatowski by Juliusz Kossak / Property of the Slotkowski Collection

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