Józef Sękalski (1904–1972), also known as Josef Sekalski and Juozapas Senkalskis, was a Polish

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person or a company * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * James ...

etcher Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

and

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

who lived and worked in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Biography

Sękalski was born in

Turek Turek is a town in central Poland with 31,282 inhabitants . It is the capital of Turek County in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. History Turek is first mentioned in the historical record 1136, when it was listed as belonging to the archbishop ...

, central Poland. He joined the Polish Forces in exile in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He remained in St. Andrews, in

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

, Scotland, after the war, with his partner Roberta Hodges, a painter herself. Sękalski constructed his printing press himself, from the back axle of a car, a tuck box and some odd items and built the machine on the floor of his apartment at 29 North Street St. Andrews. They had their studio in their own home, The Bell Rock House, at St. Andrews Harbour. Along with Alison and Winifred McKenzie and Annabel Kidston, he belonged to the St. Andrews Group of

wood engraver Wood engraving is a printmaking technique, in which an artist works an image or ''matrix'' of images into a block of wood. Functionally a variety of woodcut, it uses relief printing, where the artist applies ink to the face of the block and pr ...

Artistic career

Sękalski taught at

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and ...

, and taught Graphic Design at the Dundee Institute of Art and Technology, the later Duncan Of Jordanstone College Of Art, University Of Dundee. Sękalski illustrated works including ''A call from Warsaw: an anthology of underground Warsaw poetry'' (J. Harasowska, 1944). This book was first printed secretly under German occupation in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

in 1940 and was reprinted by the Polish library in 1942. He also provided wood-cut engravings for ''St. Andrews: Its Character and Tradition'' (1951), published by The St. Andrews Preservation Trust, and illustrated F.C. Anstruther's ''Old Polish Legends'' (1997). His work is held by museums and galleries, including the

McManus Galleries The McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery and Museum is a Gothic Revival-style building, located in the centre of Dundee, Scotland. The building houses a museum and art gallery with a collection of fine and decorative art as well as a natural history co ...

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

External links

Josef Sekalski
Cyril Gerber Fine Art
Jozef Sekalski Auction Price Results
ArtFact

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sekalski, Jozef 1904 births 1972 deaths 20th-century engravers Polish engravers 20th-century Polish painters 20th-century Polish male artists People from Turek County People associated with Fife Polish male painters