DOCUMENTATION AND PRESERVATION OF THE LEGACY OF LEOPOLD GOTTLIEB (1879-1934) FROM THE FAMILY COLLECTION

The aim of the project is to digitise and preserve, and then partially elaborate, the artist's legacy now in family collections, including sketches, prints, photographic documentation from the period as well as the artist's extensive correspondence, a total of over 1,500 objects.

Leopold Gottlieb was one of the most important exponents of Polish art in the interwar period. He earned renown as an artist in Poland, Austria, France and other European countries, as well as in the United States and Israel. He was associated with the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts (the group of "Five"), where he studied from 1896 to 1902 under the direction of Jacek Malczewski and Teodor Axentowicz, and later with Polish artistic circles in Vienna and Paris in which he played a significant role. During World War I, he took active part in the struggle for independence. He served in the Polish Legions, at the same time acting as their documentalist. His drawings depicting Józef Piłsudski and other military leaders were widely disseminated to support the idea of ​​Poland's rebirth. In the interwar period, he was also associated with the Warsaw-based artistic association Ryth, and the Formists in Kraków.

The main objective of this Project is to digitise, preserve and elaborate the artist’s legacy. The project is relevant within the context of the research on Polish national heritage and is consistent with the objectives of the Protection of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad programme.

Co-funding for this project was provided by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund – a state special-purpose fund, in accordance with Agreement no. 04816/21/FPK/POLONIKA.