Kazimierz Ostrowski (1917, Berlin – 1999, Gdynia), "Ru du Danzig," 1949–50

Provenance
private collection, Poland
the artist’s family collection

Exhibited
Kazimierz “Kachu” Ostrowski, Painting, gaga galeria contemporary art gallery in Warsaw, March–April 2005

Bibliography
Kazimierz “Kachu” Ostrowski – The Joy of Imagination, National Museum in Gdańsk, Museum of the City of Gdynia 2001, p. 84 (ill.), cat. no. II.218

Biography
In 1934, he arrived in Gdynia. Together with his brother Zygmunt, he painted signs and ship names (including the Kościuszko and the Batory). After the war ended in 1945, he reported, along with his father and two brothers, to the Gdynia City Hall, where they were tasked with changing street names and signs on government buildings and institutions. In 1946, he began studying painting at the State Higher School of Fine Arts in Sopot in the studio of Prof. A. Nacht-Samborski and Prof. J. Żuławski (he received his diploma in 1952). In 1949, he received a scholarship from the French government to study in Paris and became a student of the famous French painter Fernand Léger. In 1950, he returned to Gdynia and married Halina Krywald, with whom he had two children. From 1964 to 1987, he was a lecturer in the easel painting studio at the State Higher School of Fine Arts (PWSSP) in Gdańsk. In October 1981, he was awarded the title of associate professor. From 1981 to 1984, he served as associate dean of the Department of Painting and Printmaking. He exhibited his paintings in 60 solo and group exhibitions. In February 2000, an exhibition organized by the artist’s friends and students was held at Gallery 78 in Gdynia: “Untitled—In Memory of Professor Kazimierz Ostrowski.” Since 2002, the Kazimierz Ostrowski Award has been presented by the Association of Polish Fine Artists (ZPAP) in Gdańsk—a nationwide award granted for outstanding achievements in the field of painting.