Aleksander Żyw was born in Lida, Poland in 1905 and trained at Warsaw School of Fine Arts in the early 1930s. He was living and working in Paris when the War broke out and he fought with the Polish Army in France before escaping to the UK where the Polish Army was reforming. He arrived in Scotland in 1940 and was appointed as an official war artist. He made Edinburgh his home until he moved permanently to Italy in the 1970s. During his time in Edinburgh he has a profound impact on the city with a number of notable exhibitions, including three with The Scottish Gallery, and later retrospectives organised by the Scottish Arts Council and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.
This focused exhibition, 25 years since the artist’s death, offers a snapshot of a pivotal moment in Żyw’s artistic career. The group of work, which date from the years 1934 – 1951 provide insight into a European painter who emerged from the devastation and suffering of war a radically altered artist, and with a body of work strengthened by the experiences he had encountered.
Click here to purchase the accompanying catalogue
Special Event | Aleksander Żyw | Wednesday 11 November | 5pm (20 mins)
Join Tommy Żyw discuss the life and work of his late grandfather Aleksander Żyw.
Click here to RSVP
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Flowerpiece View details
Aleksander Żyw
Flowerpiece
1945oil on canvasH:81.3cm W:60.6cm£4,650Pont de Passy View detailsAleksander Żyw
Pont de Passy
1935oil on canvasH:71.1cm W:91.4cmSoldPont de Passy View detailsAleksander Żyw
Pont de Passy
c.1935mixed media on boardH:37cm W:51cm£1,2501st Polish Armoured Division Brass Band View detailsAleksander Żyw
1st Polish Armoured Division Brass Band
18.xi.1941pencil drawingH:24cm W:33cm£725In Depth View detailsAleksander Żyw
In Depth
1948-9oil on canvasH:61cm W:50.8cm£2,950Susannah View detailsAleksander Żyw
Susannah
1948-9oil on canvasH:76.2cm W:63.5cmSoldSantorini View detailsAleksander Żyw
Santorini
i.vii.1934pen and watercolourH:50cm W:36cmSoldVerona View detailsAleksander Żyw
Verona
vii.1937gouache and inkH:49cm W:39cmSoldSoldiers in a Landscape View detailsAleksander Żyw
Soldiers in a Landscape
1941gouache on paperH:24cm W:33.5cmSoldLoading
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