Kazimierz Ostrowski (February 14, 1917, in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

– July 12, 1999, in

Gdynia Gdynia is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With an estimated population of 257,000, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in the Pomeranian Voivodeship after Gdańsk ...

) was a Polish painter. Kazimierz Ostrowski ok1960

Biography

Kazimierz Ostrowski was born on February 14, 1917, in Berlin. In 1920 his family moved to

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

. In 1934 Ostrowski left for Gdynia where together with his brother Zygmunt he painted signs and names of ships (among others SS Kościuszko and MS Batory). After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1945 he reported together with his father and two brothers to the Urban Office in Gdynia where he was given the task of changing the street names and signs on the buildings of State institutions. In the same year he began his painting studies at the Academy of the Fine Arts in

Sopot Sopot (; or ) is a seaside resort city in Pomerelia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is located in Pomeranian Voivodeship, Pomerania Province and has the City with powiat ri ...

. In 1949 he received a scholarship from the French government to study in Paris where he apprenticed to the famous French painter

Fernand Léger Joseph Fernand Henri Léger (; February 4, 1881 – August 17, 1955) was a French painting, painter, sculpture, sculptor, and film director, filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of cubism (known as "tubism") which he gradually ...

. In 1950 he came back to Gdynia and married Halina Krywald, with whom he had two children. From 1964 to 1987 he was professor in the painting atelier at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. In October 1981 he received the title of

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

. Ostrowski presented his paintings on more than 60 individual and collective exhibitions. He was awarded with approximately 20 different awards.

Honors

*1957 – First prize for painting in the First Exhibition of Polish young painting, sculpture and graphics *1959 – Artistic award of the city of Gdynia *1970 – Golden Cross of Merit *1974 – Commemorative medal for his efforts for the city from the MRN Presidium in Gdynia *1974 – Award of the President of the City of Gdynia for the entirety of his creative work *1976 – Medal from the Mayor of the City of Gdynia on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the city *1982 – First prize of the Ministries of Culture and Arts *1985 – First prize of PWSSP-Vice-chancellor in Gdańsk *1988 – Officers’ Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta *1991 – Award from the District of Gdańsk for his work as an outstanding artistic teacher *1995 – Artistic award of the Mayor of the City of Gdynia On July 12, 1999, Ostrowski died in his flat-atelier in 62 Abrahama Street in

. On the facade of the building a commemorative bronze plate was uncovered October 26, 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ostrowski, Kazimierz 1917 births 1999 deaths 20th-century Polish painters 20th-century Polish male artists People from Gdynia Officers of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland) People from West Prussia Polish male painters Academic staff of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk