Wacław Kołacz
| Wacław Kołacz | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 17, 1925 Belsk Duży, Mazovia, Poland |
| 💀Died | March 16, 2005 (aged 80) Warsaw, PolandMarch 16, 2005 (aged 80) |
| 🏳️ Nationality | Polish |
| Other names | Sambor, Glog |
| 🎓 Alma mater | Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts (MFA, 1955) |
| 💼 Occupation | Painter, Graphic artist |
| Known for | Oil painting, Graphic art (linocut) |
| Notable work | Mleczarki, Ulicówka, Wały Chrobrego, Zamek Królewski z kolumną Zygmunta |
| Movement | Polish modern realism |
| 👩 Spouse(s) | 1. Barbara Wroczyńska 2. Elżbieta Lutomierska (m. 1962) |
| 👶 Children | Joanna; Maria Janina (b. 1963); Alexander Ludwik (b. 1966) |
| 🏅 Awards | Medal Wolności (1945); Krzyż Partyzancki; Krzyż Armii Krajowej |
Wacław Kołacz (17 January 1925 – 16 March 2005)[1] was a Polish painter and graphic artist, a regular member of the Association of Polish Artists (ZPAP). His work included oil painting, graphics, and historical portraits. His life encompassed the trauma of war, service in the Home Army, deep Seventh-day Adventist faith, and artistic activity in post-war Poland.
Early life and family background
Wacław Kołacz was born on 17 January 1925 in Belsk Duży, Mazovia. His grandfather, Józef Kołacz (born 1858 in Sadurki near Puławy), was raised in a patriotic spirit, experienced hardships with his stepmother, served in the Tsarist army, and later worked in the Lubomirski estate "Dobra Mała Wieś, Grójec County".[2] Józef married Tekla, and they had three daughters and six sons, including Aleksander, Wacław's father, who also worked for the Lubomirski/Morawski family in Mala Wies.[3]
World War II
Kołacz was a member of the Polish Home Army (AK). During the PRL era, he could not publicly acknowledge this. After 1980, he joined the Association of Fighters for Freedom and Democracy (ZBoWiD), revealing his wartime activities from 1940 to 1945.
Art education
After the war, he studied at Liceum Sztuk Plastycznych in Warsaw and then at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts under Professor Artur Nacht-Samborski (oil painting) and Professor Pakulski (graphics), earning a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1955.
Artistic work
His works included graphics and oil painting. Notable graphic works: "Mleczarki" (award-winning), "Ulicówka", "Wały Chrobrego", "Zamek Królewski z Kolumną Zygmunta", "Wieża Ratuszowa". Oil paintings: "Elektryfikacja", "Żniwa", "John Paul II at the UN", "Mount Rushmore", "Hawaiian Totems", "Atlantic". Portraits: Tomasz Nocznicki, Nicolaus Copernicus, Gen. Józef Sowiński, Bem, Stefan Żeromski, Mozart, Liszt, Chopin.
In 1973, he donated his portrait of Nicolaus Copernicus to the XXXIII Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Mikołaja Kopernika w Warszawie, where it remains part of the school's permanent collection.[4]
According to family accounts, Kołacz was also a member of the Związek Bojowników o Wolność i Demokrację (ZBoWiD), the association of Polish World War II veterans. Archival materials from the organization are now maintained by the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN).[5]
Exhibitions
- In 1966, Kołacz participated in the *Festiwal Sztuk Pięknych* at the Warsaw Zachęta Gallery, where he presented his linocut work Ulicówka.[6]
- Exhibition at Warsaw House of the Peasant
- Dom Kultury na Targówek, Warsaw
- Painting and Graphics Exhibition – KMPK, October 1971
- Exhibition at the Construction Machinery Combine "Waryński", 1979[7]
Personal life
First wife: Barbara Wroczyńska, daughter Joanna. Second wife: Elżbieta Weronika Lutomierska (since 1962), children: Maria Janina (1963) and Alexander Ludwik (1966).[8]
Religion: Seventh-day Adventist Church (Protestantism)
In 1978, he undertook an artistic trip to the United States. In 1990, he undertook a trip to Romania.
Awards and honors
He was awarded:
- the 1945 Freedom Medal[9]
- the Partisan Cross[10]
- Odznaka Pamiatkowa "Akcji Burza" (Polish Wikipedia)[11]
- Odznaka Weterana Walk o Niepodleglosc (Polish Wikipedia)[12]
- the Home Army Cross[13]
Bibliography
- "Gdzie ten dom, gdzie ten świat" by Zdzislaw Morawski - Published January 1, 1997
- "My American Experience" Fifth Edition by Alexander Lutomirski-Kolacz, Published August 2025.
References
- ↑ Gazeta Wyborcza, Nekrologi - Marzec 2005
- ↑ Source: Letter of Waclaw Kolacz addressed to his son - Warszawa, 9 sierpnia 1999
- ↑ "Gdzie ten dom, gdzie ten świat" by Zdzisław Tadeusz Morawski
- ↑ Karpowicz, Tomasz (1999). Księga Pamiątkowa XXXIII Liceum Ogólnokształcącego im. Mikołaja Kopernika w Warszawie: 1949–1999 (in polski). Warszawa: XXXIII L.O. im. M. Kopernika. pp. 25–26. Search this book on
- ↑ "Związek Bojowników o Wolność i Demokrację – ZBoWiD" (in polski). Instytut Pamięci Narodowej. Retrieved 2025-10-22.
- ↑ Festiwal Sztuk Pięknych: Katalog wystawy (in polski). Warszawa: Zachęta Narodowa Galeria Sztuki. 1966. Search this book on
- ↑ "Wierny Swojej Pasji" by Stanislaw Zielinski. Article published in the local "Warynski" newspaper, Warszawa 1979
- ↑ "My American Experience" Fifth Edition by Alexander Lutomirski-Kolacz
- ↑ PRL - Legitymacja Nr. 2703-80-52, Warszawa, 10 grudnia 1980 from Przewodniczacy Rady Panstwa Henryk Jablonski
- ↑ PRL - Legitymacja Nr. 2652-83-20, Warszawa, 28 wrzesnia 1983 from Przewodniczacy Rady Panstwa Henryk Jablonski
- ↑ RP - Legitymacja Zolnierza AK Nr. I-22-5543
- ↑ RP - Legitymacja Nr. 356338/22477, Warszawa, 25 marca 1996 przyznana przez Kierownika Urzedu do spraw Kombatantow i Osob Represjonowanych Sekretarz Stanu.
- ↑ RP - Legitymacja Nr. 11-95-147, Warszawa, 4 kwietnia 1995 from President Lech Wałęsa.
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