Adam Kossowski
Encyclopedia
Adam Kossowski was a Polish artist, born in Nowy Sacz
, notable for his works for the Catholic Church in England, where he arrived in 1943 as a refugee from Soviet labor camps
and was invited in 1944 to join the Guild of Catholic Artists and Craftsmen.
. In 1929 he returned to Warsaw and its Academy of Fine Arts
. Traveling on a government grant, Kossowski experienced Italian art in Rome (where he studied tempera painting techniques), Florence, Naples and Sicily.
On 29 October 1938, Kossowski married Stefania Szurlej, whom he had met in Rome. He was named "senior-assistant" at the Warsaw Academy of Art and won first prize to create interior sgraffito
work at Warsaw's Central Railway Station. But this project was abandoned after Germany invaded Poland in September, 1939. Kossowski's wife fled with her parents; and Kossowski himself went east, where he was arrested by invading Russian troops
in November, 1939.
and then at Kharkov, both in the Ukraine
. He told Fr. Martin Sankey, "In prison I stayed about a year. Later we received sentences. I got five years of hard labor camp and was sent to the part of the Gulag
which is called Peczlag, on the river Peczora
which runs into the Polar Sea and I stayed there till 1942."
At this time Kossowski began to pray, " … because when I was so deep in this calamity and nearly dead I promised myself that if I came out of this subhuman land I would tender my thanks to God. I hesitate to call it a vow, it was rather a promise to myself but later I used to think that it was my obligation …"
He went on to describe his release with other Polish prisoners in order to form the Polish Armed Forces in the East
under General Władysław Anders:
After several months of recuperation in Palestine, Kossowski, through the efforts of his wife in London, travelled on the liner RMS Scythia
to Scotland. In 1943 he joined the Polish Ministry of Information in London, where he worked throughout the war.
After winning a prize for the oil painting Jesus Bearing the Cross (also known as Veronica) in 1944, Kossowski was invited to join the Guild of Catholic Artists by its chairman, sculptor Philip Lindsey Clark
. This connection, in turn, led to Kossowski's first major commission from Fr. Malachy Lynch, prior of The Friars at Aylesford, Kent—the seven-panel History of the Carmelites of Aylesford in tempera.
Kossowski's first large ceramic project, a Rosary
Way, also came as an Aylesford commission. When the artist suggested that he may not be "the man who should do that", Fr. Malachy replied, "Adam, I am sure Our Lady
has sent you here for that purpose." And upon this successful venture followed "the biggest ceramic commission that I ever had till then", The Vision of St. Simon Stock. Kossowski recalled:
Casts from the original Vision of St. Simon Stock were also sent to three Carmelite ministries in the United States:
Kossowski's creative relationship with the Aylesford Carmelites lasted from 1950 to 1972. From 1953 to 1970 he worked in London on large reliefs and murals at his studio on Old Brompton Road. In 1970 he closed that studio and worked at his home studio, 49 Chesilton Road.
From 1953 to 1970, Kossowski completed many commissions for large murals and reliefs. Among these would be the sgraffito work of The Apocalypse of St. John (1964) in St. Benet's Chaplaincy, Queen Mary College, University of London and "probably his largest composition", the 2000-tile the ceramic The History of Old Kent Road (1964) at the former North Peckham Civic Center in London. Of The Apocalypse of St. John, Terlecki has written,
Adam Kossowski died in London on 31 March 1986 and is buried at Aylesford, Kent.
Nowy Sacz
Nowy Sącz is a town in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County, but is not included within the powiat.-Names:...
, notable for his works for the Catholic Church in England, where he arrived in 1943 as a refugee from Soviet labor camps
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
and was invited in 1944 to join the Guild of Catholic Artists and Craftsmen.
Life in Poland
In 1923, uncertain about a career as a painter, Kossowski began architecture studies at Warsaw Technical University. But after two years there, he turned to painting and was accepted into the Cracow Academy of Fine Arts. During his time in Cracow he worked on the restoration of paintings at Wawel CastleWawel Castle
The Gothic Wawel Castle in Kraków in Poland was built at the behest of Casimir III the Great and consists of a number of structures situated around the central courtyard. In the 14th century it was rebuilt by Jogaila and Jadwiga of Poland. Their reign saw the addition of the tower called the Hen's...
. In 1929 he returned to Warsaw and its Academy of Fine Arts
Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw
Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw is a public university of visual and applied arts located in the Polish capital. The Academy traces its history back to the Department of Arts founded at the Warsaw University in 1812. As a separate institution it was founded in 1844 during the Partitions of Poland...
. Traveling on a government grant, Kossowski experienced Italian art in Rome (where he studied tempera painting techniques), Florence, Naples and Sicily.
On 29 October 1938, Kossowski married Stefania Szurlej, whom he had met in Rome. He was named "senior-assistant" at the Warsaw Academy of Art and won first prize to create interior sgraffito
Sgraffito
Sgraffito is a technique either of wall decor, produced by applying layers of plaster tinted in contrasting colors to a moistened surface, or in ceramics, by applying to an unfired ceramic body two successive layers of contrasting slip, and then in either case scratching so as to produce an...
work at Warsaw's Central Railway Station. But this project was abandoned after Germany invaded Poland in September, 1939. Kossowski's wife fled with her parents; and Kossowski himself went east, where he was arrested by invading Russian troops
Soviet invasion of Poland
Soviet invasion of Poland can refer to:* the second phase of the Polish-Soviet War of 1920 when Soviet armies marched on Warsaw, Poland* Soviet invasion of Poland of 1939 when Soviet Union allied with Nazi Germany attacked Second Polish Republic...
in November, 1939.
In the Gulag and beyond
Kossowski was first imprisoned at SkoleSkole
thumb|right|200px|A church in SkoleSkole is a city in the Lviv Oblast of Ukraine. It is administrative center of the Skole Raion. As of 2001, the population is 6,742.- History :...
and then at Kharkov, both in the Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. He told Fr. Martin Sankey, "In prison I stayed about a year. Later we received sentences. I got five years of hard labor camp and was sent to the part of the Gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
which is called Peczlag, on the river Peczora
Pechora River
The Pechora River is a river in northwest Russia which flows north into the Arctic Ocean on the west side of the Ural Mountains. It lies mostly in the Komi Republic but the northernmost part crosses the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. It is 1,809 km long and its basin is 322,000 square kilometers...
which runs into the Polar Sea and I stayed there till 1942."
At this time Kossowski began to pray, " … because when I was so deep in this calamity and nearly dead I promised myself that if I came out of this subhuman land I would tender my thanks to God. I hesitate to call it a vow, it was rather a promise to myself but later I used to think that it was my obligation …"
He went on to describe his release with other Polish prisoners in order to form the Polish Armed Forces in the East
Polish Armed Forces in the East
Polish Armed Forces in the East refers to military units composed of Poles created in the Soviet Union at the time when the territory of Poland was occupied by both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in the Second World War....
under General Władysław Anders:
From the camp on the river Amu-DariaAmu DaryaThe Amu Darya , also called Oxus and Amu River, is a major river in Central Asia. It is formed by the junction of the Vakhsh and Panj rivers...
—where I was sent from the North—I was evacuated finally with other Poles to the banks of the Caspian SeaCaspian SeaThe Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
from where we went to Pahlevi on the Persian coast. There the Polish ex-prisoners gradually received English uniforms, our old rags infected with all sorts of disease and insects being burned, and we started the journey towards Teheran and from there to PalestinePalestinePalestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
.
After several months of recuperation in Palestine, Kossowski, through the efforts of his wife in London, travelled on the liner RMS Scythia
RMS Scythia
RMS Scythia was a Cunard liner. She sailed on her maiden voyage in 1921, and became a troop and supply ship during the Second World War. Scythia was the longest serving Cunard liner until 4 September 2005, when its record was surpassed by RMS Queen Elizabeth 2.-History:Following heavy losses during...
to Scotland. In 1943 he joined the Polish Ministry of Information in London, where he worked throughout the war.
Life and work in England
Working from a studio at Hampstead (6 Frognal Gardens), Kossowski composed work for his first show in London, entitled "A Polish Soldier's Journey", which opened on 7 June 1944 and consisted of new drawings and some he had made during his difficult sojourn in the Ukraine and on through to Palestine. In a brief note on the show, The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs observed,The drawings produced in the course of the three years of the artist's life thus absorbed, are notable for showing, apart from a real power of interpreting the local character of each scene, a rare sense of the dramatic, the gift of effective silhouetting being particularly characteristic. We see here well exemplified the profit which the artist (who long taught mural painting at Warsaw Academy) derived from his protracted studies of the frescoes in Rome and Assisi. Figure-drawing, of a very incisive kind, inevitably comes much to the fore in scenes which succeed each other on the walls of the exhibition, but many of the impressions of landscape, here displayed, will also remain impressed upon the spectator's memory. Altogether, this is an art very much in the best Polish tradition, and with an individual note definitely its own.
After winning a prize for the oil painting Jesus Bearing the Cross (also known as Veronica) in 1944, Kossowski was invited to join the Guild of Catholic Artists by its chairman, sculptor Philip Lindsey Clark
Philip Lindsey Clark
Philip Lindsey Clark was an English sculptor. He first served with 28th London Regiment and was commissioned into the Royal Sussex Regiment on the 30 September 1916. He was awarded the D.S.O as well as the 1915 Star, and the British and Victory Medals and appears to have been “mentioned in...
. This connection, in turn, led to Kossowski's first major commission from Fr. Malachy Lynch, prior of The Friars at Aylesford, Kent—the seven-panel History of the Carmelites of Aylesford in tempera.
Kossowski's first large ceramic project, a Rosary
Rosary
The rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary...
Way, also came as an Aylesford commission. When the artist suggested that he may not be "the man who should do that", Fr. Malachy replied, "Adam, I am sure Our Lady
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land during the late 12th and early to mid 13th centuries...
has sent you here for that purpose." And upon this successful venture followed "the biggest ceramic commission that I ever had till then", The Vision of St. Simon Stock. Kossowski recalled:
At that time I had already had some experience with the famous old Fulham Pottery which was still operating. They were quite ready to fire for me the larger pieces of ceramics in their old-fashioned kiln, one not used anymore elsewhere, heated by coal and coke. They could get only one temperature and one kind of glaze. You could not make any changes and I realized that every piece could be fired only once. So I had to put the colours and the glazes and the body in one firing only. It was a miracle that it came out quite alright, with very few small cracks. And the temperature had to be very high—at least 1200 degrees.
Casts from the original Vision of St. Simon Stock were also sent to three Carmelite ministries in the United States:
- The Carmelite Spiritual Center, Darien, Illinois in 1959 (interior installation)
- Mount Carmel High School, Houston, Texas in 1960 (now Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory of HoustonCristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory of HoustonCristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory of Houston is a Roman Catholic secondary school located on 6700 Mount Carmel Street in Houston, Texas, United States. The school is a part of the Cristo Rey Network and is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.The school was...
, exterior installation) - Joliet Catholic High School, Joliet, Illinois in 1962 (now Victory Centre of Joliet], interior installation)
Kossowski's creative relationship with the Aylesford Carmelites lasted from 1950 to 1972. From 1953 to 1970 he worked in London on large reliefs and murals at his studio on Old Brompton Road. In 1970 he closed that studio and worked at his home studio, 49 Chesilton Road.
From 1953 to 1970, Kossowski completed many commissions for large murals and reliefs. Among these would be the sgraffito work of The Apocalypse of St. John (1964) in St. Benet's Chaplaincy, Queen Mary College, University of London and "probably his largest composition", the 2000-tile the ceramic The History of Old Kent Road (1964) at the former North Peckham Civic Center in London. Of The Apocalypse of St. John, Terlecki has written,
Kossowski often worked on it until late in the night or the early hours of morning. He would remain alone with his vision. This was also dictated by the medium because of [sic] the top layer of the sgraffito dries quickly. But the creator's sharpness of sight and precision of hand caused him to vanquish technical difficulties.
Adam Kossowski died in London on 31 March 1986 and is buried at Aylesford, Kent.
Notable works
- TympanumTympanum (architecture)In architecture, a tympanum is the semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance, bounded by a lintel and arch. It often contains sculpture or other imagery or ornaments. Most architectural styles include this element....
at Saint Mary's RC Parish Church, Leyland - SgraffitoSgraffitoSgraffito is a technique either of wall decor, produced by applying layers of plaster tinted in contrasting colors to a moistened surface, or in ceramics, by applying to an unfired ceramic body two successive layers of contrasting slip, and then in either case scratching so as to produce an...
murals at St Benet's Chaplaincy, Queen Mary, University of LondonQueen Mary, University of LondonQueen Mary, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London... - Figure of Christ and Stations of the Cross mural at RC Church of Christ the King, Milnthorpe, Cumbria
- Ceramics at the Chapel of St Aloysius RC Church, Camden, London
- History of the Old Kent RoadHistory of the Old Kent RoadHistory of the Old Kent Road is a mural by Polish artist Adam Kossowski. It is on the exterior of the former North Peckham Civic Centre in London.-External links:* * photoset on Flickr* has launched a campaign to protect murals such as this.*...
mural at the former North Peckham Civic Centre, Old Kent Road, London - Extensive ceramics and paintings at The Friars in AylesfordAylesfordAylesford is a village and civil parish on the River Medway in Kent, 4 miles NW of Maidstone in England.Originally a small riverside settlement, the old village comprises around 60 houses, many of which were formerly shops. One pub, a Post Office and four small independent shops remain...
Awards
- 1938 - Award at the Xth Salon of the Institute of Propagation of Arts, Warsaw
- 1939 - First Prize and commission for the murals of the First Class Passenger's Bar, the new Central Railway Station, Warsaw
- 1944 - Second Prize for Jesus Bearing the Cross (also referred to as Veronica) from international religious art competition sponsored by Mowbray Publishers and Central Institute of Art and Design
- 1970 - The Alfred Jurzykowski Foundation Award (New York) for "outstanding creative achievement in fine arts"
- 1980 - Awarded the Order of Polonia Restituta by the Polish President in Exile
External Links
- Aylesford Ceramics from St. Joseph's Chapel, a photoset on Flickr
- The History of the Old Kent Road, a photoset on Flickr
- "The Civic Centre Which Told and Played Its Part in Local History" by Gavriel Hollander, Southwark News, 27 May 2008
- "Kossowski, Adam" at LARA
- St. Benet's Chaplaincy at Queen Mary, University of London
- St. Mary's RC Parish, Leyland
- Photos of Kossowski work at St. Thomas’ Church, Rainham, Kent