Stefan Knapp (scientist)
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Stefan Knapp (11 July 1921 – 12 October 1996) was a
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
and
sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
, who worked in Great Britain. He developed and
patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...
ed a technique of painting with
enamel paint Enamel paint is paint that air-dries to a hard, usually glossy, finish, used for coating surfaces that are outdoors or otherwise subject to hard wear or variations in temperature; it should not be confused with decorated objects in "painted enam ...
on steel, facilitating decorating public architectural structures.


Biography

Knapp was born in
Biłgoraj Biłgoraj (, ''Bilgoray'', ) is a town in south-eastern Poland with 25,838 inhabitants as of December 2021. Since 1999 it has been situated in Lublin Voivodeship; it was previously located in Zamość Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is located sou ...
. His father's name was Antoni and his mother was Julia, née Wnuk. In 1935 he began studies at the
Lwów Polytechnic Lviv Polytechnic National University () is a public university in Lviv, Ukraine, founded in 1816. According to the Times Higher Education, as of 2024, it ranks first as a technical institution of higher education and second among all instit ...
. After the outbreak of
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 ...
the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
occupied Lwów, murdered Knapp's father and sent Stefan to a
gulag The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...
in
Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
.New York Times, "Stefan Knapp, 75; Created Big Mural", October 20, 1996

/ref> There, among other things, he worked building schools for Russian children who had been orphaned because their parents had been imprisoned or murdered for political reasons. While in the Gulag, because artistic endeavors were limited, he made
chess set A chess set consists of a chessboard and White and Black in chess, white and black chess pieces for playing chess. There are sixteen pieces of each color: one King (chess), king, one Queen (chess), queen, two Rook (chess), rooks, two Bishop (chess ...
s out of bread and
playing cards A playing card is a piece of specially prepared card stock, heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic that is marked with distinguishing motifs. Often the front (face) and back of each card has a Pap ...
out of trash for his fellow prisoners.Biłgoraj City Webpage, "Stefan Knapp - wspomnienie o wybitnym artyście" (Stefan Knapp - memories of a great artist), accessed 31 May 2009

/ref> He was released in 1942 after the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement was signed between
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
and
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. He joined the
Anders Army Anders' Army was the informal yet common name of the Polish Armed Forces in the East in the 1941–42 period, in recognition of its commander Władysław Anders. The army was created in the Soviet Union but, in March 1942, based on an understand ...
and volunteered for the air force, hence he was shipped to
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
. Knapp began his training as a pilot on 29 June 1942 in
Hucknall Hucknall () is a market town in the Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England, north of Nottingham, southeast of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, from Mansfield and south of Sutton-in-Ashfield. Hucknall is on the west ba ...
.Wojciech Zmyślony, "Stefan Knapp" in "Polskie Sily Powietrzne w II Wojnie Swiatowej" (Polish Air Force During World War II), , accessed 5/31/09 He served as an officer and
Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...
pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
in the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
. While in the RAF Knapp pursued his art by painting or sketching portraits of his fellow pilots in 318 Squadron. After the end of the war he remained in London and took advantage of a veteran's stipend to further his studies at the
Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...
and at the
Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...
. His experience in the
Gulag The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...
and as an RAF pilot caused him to suffer from recurring nightmares and
insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder where people have difficulty sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep for as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low ene ...
for many years. Consequently, he used his art as a form of
therapy A therapy or medical treatment is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. Both words, ''treatment'' and ''therapy'', are often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx. As a rule, each therapy has indications a ...
. In the late 1940s this resulted in a series of works titled ''Gulag''. The works were noted for many experimental techniques.Stefan Knapp Biography, artnet

Knapp was known for producing
murals A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...
of unprecedented size with materials which were meant to last for thousands of years. He first received wide attention and acclaim during his exhibition in London in 1954. There he presented a unique and innovative style and technique, which involved melting glass into pieces of light steel, using specially made furnaces. Prior to finding fame he worked as a ski instructor in the Swiss Alps to make ends meet. In the late 1950s Knapp moved away from traditional painting to experiments with enamel and
sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
. In the 1960s he painted several murals at
Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...
, which were later reinstalled in the 1990s. In the early 1950s he painted a mural in the foyer of Hallfield Primary School, Westminster which was designed by the architect Denys Lasdun. He also painted a mural for the
Warsaw metro The Warsaw Metro () is a rapid transit underground system serving the Poland, Polish capital Warsaw. It currently consists of two lines, the north–south M1 (Warsaw), M1 line which links central Warsaw with its densely populated northern and sou ...
entitled ''The Battle of Britain''. Between 1954 and 1968 he held at least one exhibition each year, including ones in the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
,
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, and
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
. In 1972, he proposed an
astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...
-themed work for the
Nicolaus Copernicus University Nicolaus is a masculine given name. It is a Latin, Greek and German form of Nicholas. Nicolaus may refer to: In science: * Nicolaus Copernicus, a Polish astronomer who provided the first modern formulation of a heliocentric theory of the Solar Sys ...
in
Toruń Toruń is a city on the Vistula River in north-central Poland and a World Heritage Sites of Poland, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its population was 196,935 as of December 2021. Previously, it was the capital of the Toruń Voivodeship (1975–199 ...
which was accepted. Knapp also designed many decorations for
synagogues A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
, many of which he based on his memories of synagogues, kirkuts and Jewish prayer houses in his childhood town of
Biłgoraj Biłgoraj (, ''Bilgoray'', ) is a town in south-eastern Poland with 25,838 inhabitants as of December 2021. Since 1999 it has been situated in Lublin Voivodeship; it was previously located in Zamość Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is located sou ...
. In the 1970s Knapp, together with his wife, moved to the British countryside, where he built a large furnace for his work. Knapp is also the painter of a mural that was formerly on the now-demolished
Alexander's Alexander's, Inc. is a real estate investment trust that owns 7 properties in New York metropolitan area, including 731 Lexington Avenue, the headquarters of Bloomberg L.P. It is controlled by Vornado Realty Trust. It was founded by George Farka ...
department store in
Paramus, New Jersey Paramus ( Waggoner, Walter H, ''The New York Times'', February 16, 1966. Accessed October 16, 2018. "Paramus – pronounced puh-RAHM-us, with the accent on the second syllable – may have taken its name from 'perremus' or 'perymus,' Indian for ...
. The 280-panel mural was sized at 200⨯50 feet (about 60⨯15 metres), and at the time of creation in 1963 was the largest mural in the world. Since the building's demolishment, the mural has been in storage with sections of it occasionally exhibited at the Art Factory in
Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', ) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was established in 1792 by the last King of Poland Stanislaus II of Poland, ...
cross. Knapp was the only Pole ever to receive the
Churchill Fellowship Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts (WCMT) are three independent but related living memorials to Sir Winston Churchill, based in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. They exist for the purpose of administering Churchill Fellowships, a ...
, which he used to study and expand his knowledge of murals in
Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
,
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
and
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
. His other awards included the Knight's Cross of
Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievements in the fields of education, science, sport, culture, ...
and the
Cross of Valor The Cross of Valour may refer to one of a number of decorations: * Cross for Military Valour, a French military award * Cross of Valour (Australia), Australia's highest civil award * Cross of Valour (Canada), Canada's highest civil award * Cross of ...
. He was one of the best known Polish artists working in Great Britain. He wrote an
autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...
"Kwadratowe Słońce" (The Square Sun) about his life in the Siberian gulag. He died in 1996 at his studio in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, still working on his art. Thousands of people attended his funeral in London. A retrospective exhibition of some of Knapp's best known works is currently installed at the Mid Wales Arts Centre, Maesmawr, Caersws, Newtown SY17 5SB


Gallery

File:Pole Mokotowskie by Stefan Knapp 02.jpg, ''Battle of Britain'' at Pole Mokotowskie station in Warsaw, 1996 File:Wilanowska station by Stefan Knapp 02.jpg, Artwork at Wilanowska station, Warsaw File:Wilanowska station by Stefan Knapp 04.jpg, Wilanowska station, Warsaw


References


External links


Official webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knapp, Stefan 1921 births 1996 deaths People from Biłgoraj 20th-century Polish painters 20th-century Polish male artists Recipients of the Virtuti Militari Knights of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Polish military personnel of World War II Polish enamellers 20th-century enamellers Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń Polish muralists Polish deportees to Soviet Union Polish people detained by the NKVD Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art 20th-century ceramists Polish male painters Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom