19 November – 17 December 2022
Polish Ex-Combatants Association House, 11 Drummond Place, Edinburgh, EH3 6PJ
A new exhibition curated by Gallery Director Tommy Zyw opens this week featuring the war art of his grandfather, the polish artist Aleksander Zyw. Hosted in the recently renovated Polish Ex-Combatant’s House on Drummond Place, the exhibition charts the wartime experiences of Zyw through his time as an official war artist with the Polish First Armoured Division. This exhibition, which has been organised with the Consul General of Poland and the Polish Ex-Combatant’s House, forms part of a year-long celebration marking the 130th anniversary of the birth of General Stanislaw Maczek. Maczek was the renowned commander of the Polish First Armoured Division, instrumental in the Allied liberation of France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. As a contemporary witness to the actions of General Maczek and his men, Zyw offers a portrait of his fellow servicemen at a crucial moment in world history. A catalogue is available to purchase, please click here to discover more.
Plan your Visit
The exhibition is not open to the public full time. If you would like to visit the exhibition please contact Tommy who will arrange a viewing. Alternatively please join Tommy for an exhibition tour on Monday 5th December at 3pm. Click here to book your place.
My grandfather’s painting career spans seven decades and marches alongside the history of Europe in the 20th century. This exhibition focuses on Zyw’s time as an official war artist and features works from Scotland, aboard the Polish Destroyer Piorun and with the First Armoured Division in Europe. Zyw was not a passive observer as a war artist, but lived in the very thick of events alongside his fellow soldiers. He did not look to sensationalise the scenes he witnessed and his drawings give equal importance to the everyday realities of servicemen, alongside the drama of warfare. - Tommy Zyw
Aleksander Zyw first showed in The Scottish Gallery in 1945. The Gallery represented a number of émigré artists during and directly after The War, including Josef Herman and Rajmund Kanelba to name but a couple.
We are certain that this exhibition will show us the battlefields of the Second World War and the life of the soldiers of Gen Maczek from a new perspective, that of an artist who saw it all... I hope this exhibition will let us remember again the sacrifices that Polish soldiers made during and after the Second World War. - Dr Lukasz Lutostanski
Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Edinburgh
