The donation, valued at tens of millions of Polish zlotys, forms a large part of the Starmach family's private collection, and includes works by 26 major artists, such as textile artist Magdalena Abakanowicz, painter and director Tadeusz Kantor, and painter and illustrator Jerzy Nowosielski.
This the largest such bequest since private collector Feliks Jasieński donated significant artworks to the National Museum in Kraków a century ago.
Robert Piaskowski, the Plenipotentiary for Culture to the Mayor of Kraków, has praised the Starmach family's gesture as "noble" and "unprecedented," and added that "for both institutions, this gift, reflecting a selfless desire to share art, is invaluable."
The donation includes "unique works of fundamental importance to Polish culture that reflect the most important intellectual undercurrents of the Polish art world of the 20th century," he also said.
The gift comprises pieces from artists such as Mirosław Bałka, Marek Chlanda, Marta Deskur, Stanisław Dróżdż, Władysław Hasior and Julian Jończyk. The long list of names also includes Edward Krasiński, Piotr Lutyński, Marzena Nowak, Jadwiga Sawicka, Mikołaj Smoczyński and Grzegorz Sztwiertnia.
The donation to the Museum of Photography's collection additionally features works by the likes of Tomasz Ciecierski, Piotr Jaros, Andrzej Lachowicz, Marek Piasecki, Przemysław Pokrycki, Robert Rumas, Jacek Maria Stokłosa, Jan Tarasin, Andrzej Wełmiński and Krzysztof Zieliński.
Kraków residents and visitors will have the opportunity to view the newly acquired collection at the Bunkier Sztuki (Bunker of Art) venue early next year.
The Starmach Gallery, founded by the art historian couple near Kraków's Main Market Square in 1989, has been a key venue for the promotion of postwar Polish art. Its current location in a historic former Jewish prayer house on Węgierska Street is one of the largest private art spaces in the country.
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP