Mateusz Bronisław Grabowski, known as Grabowski or M.B. Grabowski (15 July 1904 - 16 December 1976), was a Polish-British pharmacist, art collector, and philanthropist known for owning the

Grabowski Gallery The Grabowski Gallery was an avant-garde art gallery opened in 1959 in London's Chelsea by Mateusz Grabowski, anticipating the Swinging Sixties. It hosted some of the earliest shows of the rising pop art movement and was the first venue in Lond ...

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an affluent area in west London, England, due south-west of Charing Cross by approximately 2.5 miles. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the south-western postal area. Chelsea histori ...

. His M.B. Grabowski Foundation has endowed Polish Migration and Polish Cultural History studies at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, the

University of Stirling The University of Stirling (, gd, Oilthigh Shruighlea (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built w ...

, the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, and

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

. He donated his pharmaceutical and art collections to several museums in Poland.

Life

Mateusz Grabowski was one of three children born to Wojciech and Marianna Grabowski in

Wizna Wizna is a village in Łomża County of Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, situated on the Narew River. Wizna is known for the battle of Wizna which took place in its vicinity during the 1939 Invasion of Poland at the start of World ...

near

Łomża Łomża (), in English known as Lomza, is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately 150 kilometers (90 miles) to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship si ...

in the Podlasie Governorate,

Congress Poland Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It w ...

. As a young man he was involved in the

Polish Scouting The Scouting and Guiding movement in Poland ( pl, Harcerstwo) consists of about twelve independent organizations with an overall membership of about 160,000 Scouts and Guides. The largest organization by membership is Polish Scouting and Guiding ...

movement. He graduated as a

Master of Pharmacy The Master of Sciences of Pharmacy (MPharm) is the standard master's degree program in Pharmacy. It is the oldest honorable Diploma (Degree) authorized from the European Faculties of Pharmacy as it takes five years to complete. It is based on a c ...

Stefan Batory University Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...

Wilno Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...

. His first post was alongside his pharmacist uncle in

Piotrków Trybunalski Piotrków Trybunalski (; also known by #Etymology, alternative names), often simplified to Piotrków, is a city in central Poland with 71,252 inhabitants (2021). It is the second-largest city situated in the Łódź Voivodeship. Previously, it wa ...

. In 1930 he moved to

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 ...

where he married, had two sons and rose to the role of government inspector of pharmacies. With the probability of war increasing in the late 1930s he joined the army reserve and became a member of the Polish Army Medical Corps. He subsequently organised the pharmacy services of the army. 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 escaped from Poland and sought refuge first in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and after its fall in 1940, 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 ...

. His family were left behind in Warsaw where his older son, Wojciech, ps "oko", participated in the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occ ...

. Although they survived the war, his wife died in the aftermath. Grabowski was able to bring out his two young sons to join him in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. After the war in London he set up a small network of pharmacies in

Earl's Court Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the ...

and Chelsea and started one of the first mail order chemists in England. He specialised in sending pharmaceutical products to war-ravaged Poland. In 1959 he opened the Grabowski Gallery next to his chemist shop in

Sloane Avenue Sloane Avenue is a road in London. Sloane Avenue runs roughly north-west to south-east from Brompton Road in Kensington to a junction with Elystan Place and Bray Place, and its short southern continuation, Anderson Street, joins the King's Road i ...

, Chelsea. The gallery specialised in promoting young and diaspora artists, among whom were

Pauline Boty Pauline Boty (6 March 1938 – 1 July 1966) was a British painter and co-founder of the 1960s' British Pop art movement of which she was the only acknowledged female member. Boty's paintings and collages often demonstrate a joy in self-assured ...

David Hockney David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists o ...

and

Bridget Riley Bridget Louise Riley (born 24 April 1931) is an English painter known for her op art paintings. She lives and works in London, Cornwall and the Vaucluse in France. Early life and education Riley was born on 24 April 1931 in West Norwood, No ...

. It was a non-commercial venture. Rather it was an expression of his passion for art. The gallery held its final show in 1975 before closing. Grabowski's younger son, Andrzej, an artist, predeceased him in 1969. His other son, Wojciech, also a pharmacist, took over the family business after Grabowski died in London in 1976. Grabowski was buried at

North Sheen Cemetery North Sheen Cemetery is a cemetery in Kew in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames (historically in North Sheen, Surrey). It is managed by Hammersmith and Fulham Council. The cemetery, which adjoins Mortlake Road (the A205 or South Circu ...

, London. Grabowski's granddaughter, Marewa, is married to the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

prime minister (since July 2019),

Kyriakos Mitsotakis Kyriakos Mitsotakis ( el, Κυριάκος Μητσοτάκης, ; born 4 March 1968) is a Greek politician serving as the prime minister of Greece since 8 July 2019. A member of the New Democracy (Greece), New Democracy, he has been its presi ...

References

1904 births 1976 deaths Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom Polish Roman Catholics Polish pharmacists British pharmacists Polish philanthropists Polish art collectors Burials at North Sheen Cemetery {{UK-business-bio-stub