Konstanty Mackiewicz

Polish painter Konstanty Mackiewicz started his studies in Odesa, then continued in Penza from 1914-19. Subsequently, he worked as a stage designer and art teacher in Yekaterinburg and then studied at Kandinsky’s Studio at the Moskva Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. In 1922 he came to Lviv (then in Poland, now in Ukraine) and later moved to Łódź to continue theatre work for the Municipal Stage and to design puppets for a puppet theatre. As a member of two well-known art groups, Rytm and Start, he exhibited steadily in Poland as well as in Bruxelles (1933), Paris (1937 winning two Golden Prizes), and New York (1939). After World War II Mackiewicz stayed in Łódź, leading an active artistic life.

His works included references to Cubism, Futurism, Constructivism, Expressionism, and Colorism, and he painted both still lifes and landscapes. In the 1930s Mackiewicz followed Post-Impressionism and, after World War II, Socialist Realism. He received many awards and honors, including the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta in 1977 and the Order of the Banner of Labor 1st Class in 1984.