Tom Podl

Tom Podl 1938-2011

Tom Podl was a great friend of Poland, renowned Polish art collector, a co-founder of the UWPSEC (UW Polish Studies Endowment Committee), a community leader, and a longtime active member of the Polish community in Seattle.

His biggest passion was collecting art of his heritage and roots. Over the years, Tom amassed one of the most important collections of Polish art in America (paintings and sculptures). His collection reflects the diversity of Polish modern art created between 1890 and 1939. A time driven by the Mloda Polska (Young Poland) movement, Polish art, literature, architecture, and music flourished even as the country remained partitioned under the foreign rule of Russia, Germany, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

It demonstrates how the visual arts served as a focused response to the period’s divisive geopolitics and, in the two decades after independence was achieved in 1918, contributed to the cultural identity of a sovereign Poland.

The quality and comprehensiveness of the material was recognized in 2001, when the Tom Podl collection in its entirety was exhibited at the National Museum in Kraków before embarking on a seven-city tour in Poland. The full collection is represented in the catalogue Colors of Identity: Polish Art from the American Collection of Tom Podl.

 

SGSCA and UW Polish Studies Endowment Committee is proud to make available to you a collection of these works in the form of greeting cards, the catalogue itself, and a collection of other worthy art history books…

  • Packet of 10 Assorted Blank Cards $10
  • Colors of Identity catalog  $25  (15 copies available in English / 7 copies available in Polish)
  • Out Looking In – Early Modern Polish Art $40
  • 19th Century Polish Painting  $25
  • Symbolism in Polish Painting  $30

Proceeds from the sale of these items will benefit each organization:

Pick up your own personal collection at the Spring Bazaar or at the SGSCA monthly meetings.

Questions or comments? Email us at [email protected].

Comments are closed.