Polish Poster Girls: Introducing the incredible female artists who shone in this male-dominated field

Female Polish Poster Artists

Many extremely talented female students attended the graphic arts faculties, studying under the great masters of the day, but the pressures of marriage and children forced most of them to give up their artistic ambitions not long after graduating.

Today we celebrate the award-winning female artists who broke the mould. And thank goodness they did; the world is different through female eyes and their work is sublimely beautiful.

Here are just some of our very favourite female Polish poster artists…

Teresa Byszewska

Teresa Byszewska studied Graphic Art at Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts under the legendary Prof. Henryk Tomaszewski. She nearly got thrown out after Tomaszewski expelled her for spending too much time on Jan Lenica (his assistant at the time) rather than her art. Luckily the equally legendary Prof. Jozef Mroszczak recognised her talent and offered her a place down the corridor in his studio instead where she finished her training.

Teresa Byszewska was full of energy and creativity until the very end of her life. She designed posters and children’s illustrations, she collaborated with Jan Lenica (who she was married to from 1955-1966) to make animated films, she then specialised in surreal and wonderful textiles portraits before moving into experimental graphic sewing and photography.

We really admire Teresa Byszewska. Not only are her poster designs spectacularly beautiful, but we are blown away by her originality and spirit.

Hanna Bodnar

Hanna Bodnar was a wonderful artist of the Polish School of Posters. She produced a great many posters including a great many charming and painterly designs for children’s films. Unlike Teresa, it is very hard to find too much information about Hanna though. We know that she was born in 1929 but can only suspect she must have kept herself to herself to a certain extent - despite having created on of the most iconic and collectible posters ‘Sleeping Beauty’ in 1962. Look out for a glimpse of her in the very special photo at the end of our blog.

Maria (Mucha) Ihnatowicz

Maria (Mucha) Ihnatowicz was born in 1937 in Brzesc and also studied under the master of the Polish School of Posters Prof. Henryk Tomaszewski at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, graduating in 1963.

She produced dozens of incredibly beautiful posters; she collaborated with her then partner Andrzej Krajewski on several projects; and she designed many truly beautiful covers for the iconic KIK book series. She has a magical, joyful, painterly style - we absolutely love her work.

Ewa Gargulinska

Ewa Gargulinska was born in 1941 into a family of old Polish nobility from Lwów and Kraków. During the Second World War her family's estate was confiscated by the Russians. Gargulinska, her mother and maternal grandmother were taken to Pawiak concentration camp during the Warsaw uprising but escaped before it was destroyed by the Nazi’s.

Ewa started her artistic studies in Krakow before moving to Warsaw where she too trained under Prof. Tomaszewski.

In 1972 Gargulinska managed to obtain permission from the communist security office to travel to London where she worked as a set and textile designer as well as a visual artist for a year. In 1973 she was required to return to Warsaw. Following an incident with the communist secret police Gargulinska decided to leave Poland permanently which was forbidden under the communist regime. A German friend helped Gargulinska across the border and took her to Hamburg. While waiting for an English Visa Gargulinska sold her first paintings and images of film posters to private clients in order to survive.

Ewa has lived in London ever since. She is an accomplished painter who has exhibited many times and has some very prominent collectors of her work. She has beautiful mystical and slightly melancholic style which touches our hearts.

“I use metaphors and mythology to express emotional, spiritual and metaphysical states of mind, relating to my experiences of life’s mysteries. I draw images from both my imagination and collective symbolism, pondering how spirit animates matter and how it leaves the body.”

We hope you’ve enjoyed meeting these artists. Here’s one of our favourite photos to leave you with. It’s the only one we’ve found with Hanna Bodnar in. But read along the whole line up for some super special names from the Polish School of Posters. Oh to have been at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts in the 1960’s.

Have a wonderful weekend. Love Harriet + Sylwia x

from the left: Marcin Stajewski, Liliana Baczewska, Jolanta Karczewska, prof. Henryk Tomaszewski, Hanna Bodnar-Kaczyńska, Maciej Źbikowski, Andrzej Krajewski, Maciej Raducki, prof. Józef Mroszczak, Janusz Grabiański, Joanna Dulęba, Hubert Hilscher, Joanna Krzymuska-Stokowska, Jan Młodożeniec, Maria Ihnatowicz, Maciej Urbaniec, Jerzy Flisak, Leszek HoIdanowicz, Marek Freudenreich