The agreement with America’s Le Moyne College was signed by Polish Deputy Prime Minister Piotr Gliński in the United States on Wednesday, Poland's PAP news agency reported.
Gliński said at the signing ceremony: “It’s a special event for Polish heritage.”
He thanked the private Jesuit college, based in Syracuse, New York, “for cooperation, for appreciating how important these artworks are for us, and for taking care of this unique collection over the years.”
Scenes from Polish history
Comprising seven paintings and four wall hangings, the collection adorned the Polish pavilion at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York shortly before the war erupted.
The paintings were commissioned from a group of Polish artists called the Brotherhood of St. Luke.
According to the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the artworks "depict seminal scenes from Polish history that had an impact on the whole Western civilisation," including the 1569 Union of Lublin, the 1683 Battle of Vienna, and the enactment of the May 3 Constitution in 1791.
When World War II broke out in September 1939, cutting off funding from the Polish government, the Polish pavilion was dismantled.
Some elements of its extensive décor were sold, others were donated to the Polish Museum in Chicago, while the seven paintings and four wall hangings found their way to Le Moyne College, officials said.
Return to Poland after 83 years
Anna Pawłowska-Pojawa, spokeswoman for the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, told reporters the artworks would return to Poland within three months.
They are set to be exhibited next year at the soon-to-be launched Museum of the History of Poland in Warsaw, according to officials.
“These paintings represent an important part of Polish history, but also an important part of Polish-American relations,” said the museum’s director Robert Kostro.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, gov.pl