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Stanisław Julian Ignacy Ostroróg (also known as ''Walery'', ''Stanislas Waléry'', ''Lucien Waléry'', and ''Laryew'', born 12 September 1863 – 24 February 1929) was a Polish photographer active in London and Paris between 1890 and 1929. After inheriting his father's name and photographic studio in London, he continued with portraiture for about a decade until the turn of the century when he moved definitively to Paris. There he achieved celebrity as an innovator and accomplished photographer of cabaret stars and of the female form.


Background

He was born on 12 September 1863 in London into a family of political emigrants of Polish
noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Great B ...
descent. He was the eldest child of Count
StanisÅ‚aw Julian Ostroróg Count StanisÅ‚aw Julian Ostroróg (1836– 31 May 1890) was an exiled Polish nobleman and Crimean War veteran. He later became known as an early professional portrait photographer who created photogravures, under the professional name of '' ...
, a British subject and his Polish wife, Teodozja Waleria, née Gwozdecka. His father was born in the
Russian Partition The Russian Partition ( pl, zabór rosyjski), sometimes called Russian Poland, constituted the former territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that were annexed by the Russian Empire in the course of late-18th-century Partitions of Po ...
of what had once been the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
, not long after the
November uprising The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in W ...
of 1830 which led to severe repression of the insurgents, of which the family had been part. While Ostroróg senior served as an officer in the
Imperial Guard An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the Emperor or Empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial forces, in ...
in the
Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
, he came into contact with a British General and decided to switch sides, but after a failed attempt to join the British forces, apparently on health grounds, he was directed to the Polish cavalry division of the
Ottoman Army The military of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun silahlı kuvvetleri) was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. Army The military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the ...
, headed by General
Zamoyski The House of Zamoyski (plural: Zamoyscy) is the name of an important Polish noble (szlachta) family, which used the Jelita coat of arms. It is the Polish term for "de Zamość" (Polish "z Zamościa"), the name they originally held as lords of Z ...
, whose adjutant he became in the rank of colonel. After the war he settled in London and was granted citizenship in 1862 and married. After the birth of Stanisław junior, the family headed to
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
to set up a photographic studio. In 1866 the family were back in Warsaw, but the following year after the death of the second son, they left for Paris in time for the birth of the third son,
Leon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...
, and where Ostroróg senior resumed his successful photographic career until 1878 when his creditor's financial difficulties forced him to give up trading and the family moved back to London in 1880. He opened a
Regent Street Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash and James Burton. It runs from Waterloo Place ...
studio where Stanisław junior was eventually to join his father.


Early years

Although born in England, Stanisław junior was sent to Poland, presumably to relatives, to learn Polish while his parents returned to France where his father developed his photographic career. In 1871, during the
Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...
, he was sent there for his schooling. In that period, his parents divorced and his father remarried. At around 18 years of age and following family tradition, he obtained a commission in the army, only this time in the
Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
at
Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...
. This was short-lived as he evinced an interest in his father's business and resigned from the army. At his father's insistence, he went to Paris for two years to study the techniques of photography, including portraiture. He returned to England to rejoin his father, who by then was enjoying great success and found he was not needed in the studio and so accepted a proposal to go to
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
for a year helping in the construction of a railway and opening up a colony. He spent the next few years travelling with a camera and survey instruments in Africa, to places like
Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...
and Zululand. The sudden death of his father from an aneurism brought him back to London, where he took over the management of his father's studio.


Photographic career

Ostroróg junior was inspired to learn photographic techniques by his photographer father. He had worked briefly alongside him in the London studio named after his mother, ''Walery'' Ltd. After his father's death, however, he found the business side a struggle and soon went into partnership with the ambitious young English theatrical photographer, Alfred Ellis (1854–1930) and began trading as ''Ellis & Walery'' from new premises in
Baker Street Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder William Baker, who laid out the street in the 18th century. The street is most famous for its connection to the fictional detec ...
until 1908. For four years between 1890 and 1894 he worked on developing a
Heliogravure Photogravure (in French ''héliogravure'') is a process for printing photographs, also sometimes used for reproductive intaglio printmaking. It is a photo-mechanical process whereby a copper plate is grained (adding a pattern to the plate) an ...
process for the reproduction of art, although that did not produce the results he desired until much later in Paris. In the meantime he continued with portraits of society people including royalty as his father had done earlier. The NPG records that ''Walery'', father and son, is associated with 197 portraits, including
Dan Leno George Wild Galvin (20 December 1860 – 31 October 1904), better known by the stage name Dan Leno, was a leading English music hall comedian and musical theatre actor during the late Victorian era. He was best known, aside from his music hall ...
and King
George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...
, while Ellis has 180 portraits to his name, mainly of "theatrical royalty". They appear to have kept their authorship and sitters separate, while sharing studio facilities. Around 1900, Stanisław Ostroróg opened a Paris studio on his own account, in his father's former premises, at 9bis rue de Londres, where initially he specialized in theatre and cabaret artists including
Mata Hari Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod (née Zelle; 7 August 187615 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari (), was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I. She was executed by ...
, and produced
Cabinet card The cabinet card was a style of photograph which was widely used for photographic portraiture after 1870. It consisted of a thin photograph mounted on a card typically measuring 108 by 165 mm ( by inches). History The '' carte de visite' ...
s. As his French business prospered he gave up his London interest. In the 1920s he focused on
Art Photography Fine-art photography is photography created in line with the vision of the photographer as artist, using photography as a medium for creative expression. The goal of fine-art photography is to express an idea, a message, or an emotion. This stand ...
and experimented with the figure of the model, entirely eschewing aspects of background and other perquisites. During this period he used the pseudonym "Laryew" and under that name produced a book of 100
heliogravure Photogravure (in French ''héliogravure'') is a process for printing photographs, also sometimes used for reproductive intaglio printmaking. It is a photo-mechanical process whereby a copper plate is grained (adding a pattern to the plate) an ...
s, entitled ''Nus – Cent Photographies Originales''. He achieved greatest acclaim with his series of photographs of
Josephine Baker Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...
, published in 1926. He also produced studies of the female nude destined for anatomy and art students.


Confusions arising from the name "Walery"

There are probably three areas of confusion as to the name "Walery". The first is because there was another Polish photographer with the given name "Walery", the quite distinct
Walery Mroczkowski Walery Karłowicz Mroczkowski (6 April 1840 – 1 October 1889) was a Polish insurgent in the 1863 January Uprising. He was arrested and imprisoned by the Prussian authorities. Upon release in 1865, he was sent into exile and travelled to Italy, ...
working under the pseudonym "Walery Ostroga" in
Menton Menton (; , written ''Menton'' in classical norm or ''Mentan'' in Mistralian norm; it, Mentone ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italian border. Me ...
and in
Trouville-sur-Mer Trouville-sur-Mer (, literally ''Trouville on Sea''), commonly referred to as Trouville, is a city of 4,603 inhabitants in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Trouville-sur-Mer borders Deauville across the Ri ...
, where Parisians and other wealthy people went on holiday, so could be forgiven for mixing up the names. Secondly, the confusion has grown further because the younger Ostroróg used several pseudonyms, among them, "Lucien Waléry" or "Stanislas Walery", "Laryew" or "Yrelaw" to produce "erotica" in Paris in the period 1900–1929. Thirdly, there is thematic confusion in the French national library in that subjects under "Walery" comprise portraits for the
Société de géographie The Société de Géographie (; ), is the world's oldest geographical society. It was founded in 1821 as the first Geographic Society. Since 1878, its headquarters have been at 184 Boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris. The entrance is marked by two gig ...
, the Geographical Society of France as well as playbills for the
Folies Bergère The Folies Bergère () is a cabaret music hall, located in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the architect Plumeret. It opened on 2 May 1869 as the Folies Trév ...
, while the
Bibliothèque interuniversitaire de santé The Bibliothèque interuniversitaire de Santé (BIU Santé) is a French medical library created in 2011. It offers collections in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and related sciences. The BIU Santé resulted from the merging of two other instituti ...
—French Inter-university Library for health—contains 64 portraits of eminent medical doctors, also catalogued under "Waléry". It is assumed by some that ''Lucien Waléry'' was not the younger Count Ostroróg, but a different photographer altogether. Others, like the photographic historian, Zygmunt Wielowiejski, and the French national library, regard "Lucien" as the younger Count Ostroróg working under yet another pseudonym, probably to distance himself from his more mainstream work.


False ''Walery''

Finally, the "Lucien" and "Waléry" pseudonyms became associated with the name of "Charles Auguste Varsavaux" (1866–1935), another French photographer, who took over the former ''Walery'' premises in ''rue de Londres'' after Ostroróg died in 1929. There is no suggestion that the two men ever cooperated. The
Bibliothèque nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...
cautions against confusing Ostroróg junior with ''Lucien Varsavaux, dit Walery''. Warsavaux also produced erotica, presumably to cash in on the notoriety of the address and himself died on 20 April 1935, but there remains the outside possibility that his was yet another pseudonym of Ostroróg junior, playing on the last name's association with "Warsaw". The insinuation by Varsavaux has led some to believe that Ostroróg himself died in 1935. However, an alleged Varsavaux descendant, among others, dispute this theory, as does the Varsavaux death certificate, pictured here.


Private life

He married Joyce Audrey Rede Fowke (1877–1930), a granddaughter of
Sir Henry Cole Sir Henry Cole FRSA (15 July 1808 – 18 April 1882) was a British civil servant and inventor who facilitated many innovations in commerce and education in the 19th century in the United Kingdom. Cole is credited with devising the concept of ...
, in 1897 in
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
. They had four children, Francis who died in infancy, Stanislaus John, Joyce and Sally. Stanisław Julian Ignacy Ostroróg died in Paris on 22 February 1929. His nephew (younger brother Leon's son) and namesake,
Stanislas Ostroróg Count Stanislas Marie Joseph Antoine Ostroróg (20 May 1897 – 27 September 1960) was a French diplomat from a noble Polish family, serving in several Asian countries over the course of his career. His father Count Leon Walerian Ostroróg (1867â ...
, became a French diplomat and ambassador to
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
and
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
among other postings.


Museum and private collections

In 2005, the National Portrait Gallery, London, mounted an exhibition entitled "Victorian Women", featuring the work of ''Walery'', father and son. In Paris the
Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) ( en, Orsay Museum) is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art ...
holds 72 items by "Walery", mostly children, family groups and politicians and artists.Walery collection
at the
Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) ( en, Orsay Museum) is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art ...
accessed 5 January 2018


Gallery

File:A Cellier, H J Leslie, B C Stephenson.jpg,
Alfred Cellier Alfred Cellier (1 December 184428 December 1891) was an English composer, orchestrator and conductor. In addition to conducting and music directing the original productions of several of the most famous Gilbert and Sullivan works and writing th ...
, H J Leslie, B C Stephenson File:Mata Hari 1.jpg,
Mata Hari Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod (née Zelle; 7 August 187615 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari (), was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I. She was executed by ...
File:Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), by Alfred Ellis & Walerie, 1892.jpg,
Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
in 1892 File:Postcard of Feral Benga in Folies Bergere.jpg, Postcard of
Féral Benga François "Féral" Benga (1906–1957) was a Senegalese dancer and became a sought after model of the Harlem Renaissance, his portraits and sculptures taken by Carl Van Vechten, Richmond Barthé and George Platt Lynes among others. Biography Fran ...
at the
Folies Bergère The Folies Bergère () is a cabaret music hall, located in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the architect Plumeret. It opened on 2 May 1869 as the Folies Trév ...
File:BAXONE, Ellen W Étoile. 619-30. Photo Waléry b.jpg, BAXONE, Ellen W Étoile File:Walery 2.jpg, ''Woman with headdress'',
circa 1928 File:Maurice chevalier001.JPG,
Maurice Chevalier Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", "Louise", " Mimi", and "Thank Hea ...
1920s File:Art Deco Nude Gravure 40.jpg, ''A woman from the
Folies Bergère The Folies Bergère () is a cabaret music hall, located in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the architect Plumeret. It opened on 2 May 1869 as the Folies Trév ...
'', 1920


See also

*
List of Poles This is a partial list of notable Polish or Polish-speaking or -writing people. People of partial Polish heritage have their respective ancestries credited. Science Physics * Czesław Białobrzeski * Andrzej Buras * Georges Charpak ...


References


Bibliography

* Aneta Ostroróg, "''Znany – nieznany – zapomniany. Nieco informacji o StanisÅ‚awie Julianie Ostrorogu'', ''Dagerotyp'' 2005, nr 14, s. 5–13. * Walery, Stanislas. (1923) (ur. StanisÅ‚aw Julian Ignacy, Count Ostroróg – 1863–1929)''Nus. Cent photographies Originales de Laryew''. Published Paris: Librairie des Arts Décoratifs, A. Calavas. * * Zygmunt Wielowiejski, "''Raport w sprawie Ostrorogów – aneks fotograficzny'', ''Dagerotyp'' 2008, nr 17, pp. 31–47.


External links


Walery collection
National Portrait Gallery, London
''Victorian Women by Walery''
National Portrait Gallery, London
Hugues Fontaine's blog
* Zygmunt Wielowiejski
''Walery: Heliograwiury''
€”Introduction to Exhibition of ''Walery Jr.''
Heliogravure Photogravure (in French ''héliogravure'') is a process for printing photographs, also sometimes used for reproductive intaglio printmaking. It is a photo-mechanical process whereby a copper plate is grained (adding a pattern to the plate) an ...
s in the Lower Silesia Photography Centre, Wrocław, 2011 (in Polish). {{DEFAULTSORT:Ostrorog, Stanislaw Julian Ignacy British portrait photographers Photographers from London Pioneers of photography 19th-century English photographers 20th-century French artists 20th-century photographers French photographers Fine art photographers French erotic photographers British people of Polish descent Stanislaw Julian Ignacy 1863 births 1929 deaths