Post-WWII artists, painters and singers known as ‘Anders’ Artists’ remembered in stunning new album
A new album follows the footsteps of “Anders’ Artists”, the Polish painters, singers and other cultural figures who settled in Britain after World War II.
Seventy years on, the Polish community in Britain is drawing attention to the Polish artists of the era, resulting in the new album entitled “Anders’ Artists. Little Poland on the River Thames”.
The new album follows the footsteps of “Anders’ Artists”, the Polish painters, singers and other cultural figures who settled in Britain after World War II.
Jarosław Koźmiński, the man behind the project, at the presentation of the album at the Polish Embassy said: “The term ‘Anders' soldiers’ evokes an obvious association with the military formation, but equally obvious, though still poorly documented, are activities on fields other than the battlefield.
“The project ‘Anders’ Artists’ introduces a little-known aspect of the history of the generation of Polish soldiers and emigrés, showing people who developed their artistic passions despite dramatic wartime circumstances,” he added.
Included among the visual artists are those such as Feliks Topolski, who painted the formation of Anders’ Army in the Soviet Union during the war and died in London in 1989.
The project’s website contains photos and biographical notes on dozens of Polish cultural figures associated with Anders’ soldiers or the Polish émigré community in post-war Britain.
They include visual artists like as Feliks Topolski, who painted the formation of Anders’ Army in the Soviet Union during the war and died in London in 1989, but also other cultural figures, such as actors and singers.
Anna Maria Anders, General Anders’ daughter (L), said the artists “freely continued the work they had developed in the Second Polish Republic.”
“It was them who freely continued the work they had developed in the Second Polish Republic,” said the guest of honour at the event Anna Maria Anders, General Anders’ daughter, who is currently Poland’s ambassador to Italy.
The album by Koźmiński was published by the Educational Projects Society in Warsaw and the Polish Cultural Foundation in London, with support from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
