Alfred Jan Maksymilian Wierusz-Kowalski
He was born 11 October 1849 year in Suwałki. His father Teofil was a regent of the land office (notary). Alfred was the first child from his father's second marriage with Teofila née Siewierski, daughter of a property manager. The family was numerous – Two children from the first and seven from the second marriage. Wierusz-Kowalski, well-off materially, had a residential house in Suwałki and a small estate in the Dębszczyzna near Filipowa, in which they spent the summer months.
W 1865 year Teofil Wierusz-Kowalski moved to the position of notary public to Kalisz. The whole family left Suwałk in early autumn. The journey lasting a few days has become strongly in memory of the beauty of the landscape, sixteen -year -old Alfred. In Kalisz, he continued his education in the last grades of the government junior high school. Stanisław Barcikowski gave him drawing lessons, A graduate of the Warsaw School of Fine Arts.
Alfred Wierusz-Kowalski in 1868 year he joined the Warsaw drawing class. He studied under the direction of Rafał Hadzewicz, Aleksander Kamiński and Wojciech Gerson. W 1871 year he went to Dresden for further studies, Prague and Munich.
At the Munich Academy, he continued his studies under the direction of Alexander Wagner, He also attended Józef Brandt's studio, an outstanding Polish painter of generic and battle scenes.
In Munich, which was a lively center of cultural life, Wierusz-Kowalski founded his own studio and remained permanently. He quickly gained recognition from local traders of works of art and an outstanding position in the artistic world. He painted a lot. He carried out numerous orders. His images embedded deep in native topics, depicting generic scenes from small housing estates and towns, often shown with humor and a hint of irony “Arrival of postal ambulance”, “An accident on the go”), numerous Krakow weddings, trips and returns from hunting, And above all, dramatic attacks of wolves on people traveling in sleighs and on fearful horses, They were very successful. A lonely wolf against the winter landscape was also a common motif of images. Historical and battle motifs played a smaller role in the subject of creativity.
W 1903 the artist was a short journey to North Africa. An exotic Arabic themes appeared in his work “Bedouini at the well”, “With a war order – Morocco”, “Before the mosque”).
Wierusz-Kowalski took part in many international exhibitions, He also exhibited his paintings in the country: Warsaw, Krakow, Lviv and Poznań.
He won awards and medals in Munich, Vienna, Berlin, Paris, Saint Louis i Louisville.
He also obtained a great gold medal in 1904 year at a nationwide exhibition in Lviv.
His paintings were acquired by the largest European galleries and museums and the United States.
In recognition of the merits of Alfred Wierusz-Kowalski received in 1890 of the year, the title of Honorary Professor of the Munich Academy. Although he did not conduct systematic pedagogical activities, He always looked after young painters in Munich. His hospitable house and studio were always open to them.
Before 1910 The artist started working as a year, he thought, over the work of your life – A great picture 5×10 M entitled “Wolf assault”. We know, that this work was staged in 1919 year in Warsaw (Hall of the Rowing Society) and cognition. A special informant with photos of image fragments and memories of the painter spent on Suwalszno was attached to the Poznań exhibition. The most dramatic fragment of memories concerned the wolf assault on the family of Wierusz-Kowalski traveling in the winter 1857 year.
This wonderful picture has not reached our time. Burned in the wagon, which was transported part of the equipment of the apartment and the studio from Munich to Poland.
Alfred Wierusz-Kowalski died in Munich 16 February 1915 year. His ashes were brought to the country in 1936 year and buried at the Powązki cemetery in Warsaw.
W 1966 year on the initiative of the Suwałki Land Museum, The National Museum in Warsaw organized an exhibition of works by Alfred Wierusz-Kowalski from the collections of Polish museums and private collections in Suwałki. W 1972 The year managed to open a permanent exhibition illustrating the life and work of this excellent artist in the Suwałki Museum. The exhibition was organized thanks to the deposits of the National Museum in Warsaw, The deposit of the Art Museum in Łódź, Deposits and later the great gifts of his son Alfred – also a well -known painter – Czesław Wierusz-Kowalski, His wife Hanna and their heirs from Paris and Warsaw, Dr. Alfred Wierusz-Kowalski from Gliwice, and also thanks to the purchases of the Museum in Suwałki.
So far, this is the only permanent exhibition of this outstanding artist in Poland. Lovers and experts in his talent only in the city, in which he was born, He spent his childhood and early youth, They can get to know the artist's silhouette in such a versatile extent and admire his talent and great painting craftsmanship.
