Bolesław Barbacki's Studio

The gallery of paintings by Bolesław Barbacki (1891-1941) recreates the atmosphere of an artist's studio. Barbacki was born in Nowy Sącz on 10 October 1891.

In 1910-1914 he studied at the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts under Teodor Axentowicz, and at the same time law at the Jagiellonian University, graduating in 1916. He painted realistic oil portraits and consciously kept his distance from the avant-garde. He left about 800 paintings. Alongside portraits, he painted landscapes, still lifes, nudes and everyday scenes; when portraying people, he avoided idealising his subjects. In Nowy Sącz he was also a man of the theatre: in 1918 he founded a permanent drama society in which he acted, directed and designed sets until 1939. From 1920 he taught drawing at a girls' secondary school, and in 1926 he founded an industrial sewing school for poor girls. In 1932-1939 he chaired the "Sokół" Gymnastic Society.

In 1941 the Gestapo arrested him twice. On 21 August 1941 he was shot in Biegonice alongside other Polish prisoners. The museum is researching his unknown works in private collections; the results were published in albums in 2021 and 2024.