Celebrate Polish Heritage Month—Presentation of Selected Artworks from the KF Gallery of Polish Masters

The KF Gallery of Polish Masters

The KF Gallery of Polish Masters is among the largest collections of Polish art outside of Poland, celebrating the nation’s rich cultural heritage and global influence. We invite you to explore the collection and support our mission to preserve and promote this remarkable legacy.

One of our collection’s most prominent works is Jan Matejko’s “Gamrat and Stańczyk”, a painting that exemplifies the artist’s mission to use art as a tool for national reflection and historical education.

The artwork depicts a solemn procession entering the square below Wawel Castle in Kraków. At its center walk two striking figures — Archbishop Piotr Gamrat, robed in white, and the jester Stańczyk — captured mid-conversation. Though this moment may not be historically documented, Matejko uses it symbolically to examine the contrasts of power and conscience in 16th-century Poland.

Gamrat, a prominent churchman and political figure, enjoyed significant influence at court, particularly under Queen Bona Sforza. Despite his religious office, his worldly lifestyle drew criticism — much of it voiced by Stańczyk, the court jester known for his sharp wit and truth-telling. In fact, Matejko lent Stańczyk his own facial features, signaling his personal alignment with the jester’s role as a critic of power.

Completed between 1873 and 1878, “Gamrat and Stańczyk” invites viewers to look beyond surface narratives and reflect on more profound moral and political questions — a hallmark of Matejko’s work.

The painting “Gamrat and Stańczyk” was generously donated to the Kosciuszko Foundation by Mr. P. P. Lester.

Another masterpiece from the KF Collection is Józef Brandt’s (1841–1915) “Light Cavalry – Lisowczycy”

Józef Brandt’s “Light Cavarly—Lisowczycy” transports the viewer to the world of the seventeenth-century Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The artist captures a moment of intense concentration and movement as a group of Lisowczycy—renowned light cavalrymen—take part in mounted archery exercises. At the center, a rider on a chestnut horse draws his bow, aiming at a white turban fixed to a tall post. Behind him, cavalrymen evoke the atmosphere of a broader military camp.

The composition demonstrates Brandt’s exceptional ability to merge precise historical detail with dynamic energy. His rendering of the soldiers’ attire, weapons, and horses conveys both authenticity and vitality. The Lisowczycy were an irregular cavalry unit established in 1615 by Colonel Aleksander Józef Lisowski. Known for their mobility and fearlessness, they fought in numerous campaigns—including the Polish–Russian War and the battles against the Ottoman Turks in 1620–1621—earning a reputation across Europe. Their exploits became a recurring theme in Brandt’s art, reflecting his fascination with Poland’s military past and sarmatian traditions.

Józef Brandt, one of Poland’s foremost painters of battle scenes, trained in Paris and Munich, studying under Karl von Piloty and other leading artists of the period. In Munich, he became a central figure among Polish expatriate painters and later founded a private school for young artists. His works pay tribute to the heroism and pageantry of Poland’s history, distinguished by their dramatic compositions and masterful depictions of horses in motion.

“Light Cavalry—Lisowczycy” was generously donated to the KF by Ms. and Mr. Stanley Kupiszewski in 1958.

The Final Journey (Ostatnia Podróż), painted by the Polish Symbolist master Jacek Malczewski (1854–1929), is one of the most profound works housed in the Kosciuszko Foundation’s Gallery of Polish Masters in New York.

In this painting, Malczewski meditates on the themes of departure, transformation, and the passage from life to death—ideas that held deep personal and national significance in his art. The title itself, suggesting an ultimate voyage, invites reflection on mortality, memory, and the soul’s transcendence.

Malczewski’s life and work unfolded during one of the most turbulent periods in Polish history, when the nation had been erased from the political map of Europe after the Partitions of Poland (1772–1795). Living under foreign rule, divided among Russia, Prussia, and Austria, Polish artists and intellectuals often turned to symbolism and allegory to express their longing for national freedom and cultural identity. In this context, Malczewski’s art became a form of spiritual resistance.

In The Final Journey, this duality resonates strongly: the transition from one realm to another can be read not only as a personal meditation on mortality but also as a metaphor for Poland’s passage from oppression to independence in 1918.

The painting was generously donated by Mr. John Malinowski in memory of his mother, Zofia Malinowski, in 1951.

Take a virtual tour of KF’s Art Gallery HERE to explore more artworks from the Kosciuszko Foundation’s collection.

Consider supporting the conservation of artworks in our care. Donate HERE. As we celebrate our centennial anniversary, your contribution helps ensure future generations enjoy these cultural treasures.