Zofia Albinowska-Minkiewiczowa

Austrian-born Polish-Ukrainian artist, painter, and engraver (1886–1971)

Witold Minkiewicz

(m. 1922; died 1961)

AwardsCross of Merit
1939

Zofia Albinowska-Minkiewiczowa (November 16, 1886 – June 30, 1971) was a Polish-Ukrainian artist, painter and engraver tied to the Lvov circle of artists. For many years she was president of the General Union of Polish Artists. After Lvov was annexed by the Soviet Union, Albinowska-Minkiewiczowa joined the Union of Soviet Artists of Ukraine. She signed her paintings with her maiden name, Zofia Albinowska.

Biography

Albinowska-Minkiewiczowa was born in Klagenfurt, Duchy of Carinthia, Austria-Hungary. She started her education in 1901, first in private schools in Vienna, where she took lessons first from Heindrich Strehblow, then starting in 1902 from Franz Hohenberg and Ferdinand Kruis [de]. During 1906–1912 she studied in Paris in Académie Colarossi and École des Beaux Arts. Studying in Paris she was in close relationship with Olga Boznańska and received many artistic leads from her. During this period she traveled to France, England, Belgium, Netherlands, and Italy.

From 1909–1912 Albinowska studied at the k. k. Kunstgewerbeschule in Vienna. After graduating, she returned to Lvov permanently, where she remained for the rest of her life. At this time Lvov, then known as Lemburg, belonged to Austrian Galicia, which was later ceded to independent Poland and the Ukrainian SSR. In 1922 she married Witold Minkiewicz [pl], professor of architecture in Lvov and Wrocław.

For many years between World War I and World War II, Zofia Albinowska-Minkiewiczowa was the president of the General Union of Polish Artists. She participated in many domestic and international exhibitions, including in Prague, Paris, and New York.

Her early works are usually portraits, but after 1920 she painted mainly small compositions showing room interiors, still life and flowers. Her works are sometimes described as being painted in a post-impressionist manner. She refused to paint the Soviet commanders saying that she can paint only the flowers.^{[citation needed]}

She died in Lvov in 1971.

Selected paintings

Kwiaty na oknie (Flowers in the Window), 1912
Kwiaty w dwóch wazonach (Flowers in Two Vases)
Bukiet kwiatów (Bouquet of Flowers)
Bukiet róż z winogronami (Rose Bouquet With Grapes)
Martwa natura z kwiatami (Still Life With Flowers)
Wnętrze saloniku (Parlor Interior)
Martwa natura (Still Life)
Róże (Roses)
Martwa natura z hiacyntem i porcelanowym wschodnim talerzem (Still Life With Hyacinth and Porcelain Eastern Plate)