International inventory and popularization of the work of the emigre artist Alicja Halicka (1889-1974)

Alicja Halicka's works preserved in public and private collections (paintings and drawings; on canvas and paper) are of undoubted high artistic and historical value. Educated in Krakow, Munich and Paris, the artist belonged to the circle of emigrant artists originating from the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, co-creating the artistic phenomenon characteristic of the French capital in the first half of the 20th century, known in literature as the "Paris school" (École de Paris). Halicka's work was highly appreciated both in interwar Paris and later, as evidenced by numerous exhibitions of her art held in Parisian galleries; purchases and donations of works to the most important public art collections in Paris (including Center Pompidou); invitations and orders that the artist received from publishing houses (illustrations and book graphics) and private clients (portraits, set designs and costume designs).

Halicka's work also has significant historical value, diverse in form and style, oscillating between cubist tendencies characteristic of the 1910s and 1920s and various formulas of realism in the 1930s. It is a priceless visual testimony of the changes and formal richness of Polish émigré art in Paris.

Alicja Halicka's artistic legacy, diverse in terms of technique, subject matter and form, has not yet been the subject of large-scale inventory and catalog research. The work of the Polish artist, important from the point of view of the history of 20th century art, the history of artistic reception and Polish-French artistic relations, although present in exhibition and museum discourse, remains an area that has not been sufficiently researched. This state of affairs was caused by the significant dispersion of the artist's works. Halicka's paintings and drawings are in the most important public museum collections in Europe (e.g. Center Pompidou in Paris; Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du judaïsme in Paris) and the United States of America (e.g. Museum of Modern Art in New York), as well as in numerous foreign private collections. The concept of the research project assumes reaching all of Halicka's works created before 1945, which are part of public collections, as well as - through already recognized collectors, art dealers and auction houses that offered (and still find) the artist's works - cataloging as many as possible privately owned facilities. The expected result of the project is the development of a possibly complete catalog of Halicka's works outside Poland, containing photographic reproductions of the artist's works, their technical description along with information on the state of preservation, dating and a note on the provenance of the work. It will allow us to view Halicka's work created over several decades before 1945 and will enable further detailed research on her art and life.

The publication of the catalog will be accompanied by a scientific symposium, and in the following years there will be a large public presentation of Halicka's works from foreign and domestic collections. The implementation of the research and popularization project will allow us to restore the figure and work of Alicja Halicka not only to Polish art history and museology, but also to familiarize a wide audience with her art. Another expected long-term effect of the project is to introduce the artist to the international canon of modern art and draw attention to the unique contribution of her artistic work to the global artistic achievements of the modernist era.
 

The work on developing a catalog of Alicja Halicka's works will be guided by the chronology of her biography. The team of researchers will trace the archives and collections following the painter's footsteps, i.e. they will start with a research in Munich, where the painter attended Hollósy's school (1912), the next place of research will be Paris, where Halicka settled in 1913. The inquiry into Halicka's activities in Paris will be divided into periods determined by the subsequent stages of education and assimilation in the local environment, such as: her studies at the Académie Ranson (1913), debut at the Autumn Salon, participation in the Salon des Indépendants, etc. From 1930, when Halicka's career was developing faster and faster, her works were also shown in galleries in other cities in France and abroad. At this stage, the project team will benefit from the support of researchers from the Center Pompidou in Paris - an institution with which the Łódź museum has been cooperating since the 1980s. The next breakthrough in Halicka's work is marked by the moment when her works began to enter American collections - the year 1935, when not only the first to exhibit his works in the USA, but also goes overseas. The team will research her activity in America, and the resources of Yale University will be helpful in discovering it - where the collection and archives of Société Anonyme - the first Museum of Modern Art in the United States funded by artists - are deposited.

After completing the query, the team will proceed to compile inventory cards identified in public and private collections of works and develop a catalog. The results of research on the dispersed legacy of Alicja Halicka will be made available to the public and subjected to additional scientific study as part of an international symposium. The analyzes of the artist's work created during the course will be included in the catalog by supplementing it with a critical value.

Completion time: July 3, 2023 - December 31, 2024

Financial resources of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund were granted in the amount of PLN 134,000 (in words: one hundred thirty-four thousand PLN), including:

in 2023: PLN 46,000 (in words: forty-six thousand zlotys)

in 2024: PLN 88,000 (in words: eighty-eight thousand zlotys)

Task: International inventory and popularization of the work of the emigre artist Alicja Halicka (1889-1974)

Co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund - a state earmarked fund