Henryk Tomaszewski

Henryk Tomaszewski studied in Warszawa at the School of Graphic Industry and then started working as a satirical illustrator for newspapers. From 1934-39 he studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warszawa. Tomaszewski took an interest in poster art in 1936 and began contributing to “Szpilka,” the satirical weekly. He lived in Warszawa under the Nazi occupation and had his drawings printed in the Lublin-based satirical weekly, “Stańczyk” in 1944.

After World War II Tomaszewski was awarded a standing order for the design of movie posters by the state film company but continued to draw for newspapers. In the 1950s he also began to work as a stage designer and lecturer. In 1966 he was appointed professor at the Faculty of Graphic Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warszawa. Tomaszewski also headed it as dean for many years. He was considered one of the finest poster and graphic artists in the world and, as an illustrator and teacher, was a pioneer of the Polish poster school. He also designed a number of books and exhibitions, and was a member of many international art societies, including the prestigious Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI).

The Ball (correctly Football) was initially only a poster design from 1948, although it won 1st prize in the national pre-Olympic competition. It shows the silhouettes of two players with different skin colors. The original is still in possession of the family, the work was printed as a poster as late as 1988 in a limited edition (89 x 62 cm) for an exhibition of Polish poster art in Belgium.