Artystki polskie w Paryżu wobec odzyskanej niepodległości Polski
Polish Women Artists in Paris and the Regained Independence of Poland

Summary/Abstract: Poland's regaining of independence in 1918 substantially changed the situation of the Polish artistic colony in Paris, including female artists. A number of reasons for artistic emigration lost their raison d'être, such as the affirmation of Polish national identity, the need for free expression of patriotic feelings, and propaganda for the restoration of an independent state. The problem of higher artistic education for women, which had been pressing during the period of the partitions, was also gradually solved in the reborn state. The number of Polish women artists in Paris clearly diminished in the immediate post-war period. Those who remained, such as Olga Boznańska, Mela Muter, Alicja Halicka or Stefania Łazarska, focused on developing their careers as professional artists. Our article proposes an analysis of the professionalisation of Polish women artists, either in the traditionally recognised domain of portrait painting as a speciality of women, or in the decorative arts. The dramatic situation of artists during the war, caused, among other things, by the collapse of the art market, led to a rapid development of this field, in which women achieved mastery, as shown by the 1925 Paris Exhibition of Decorative Arts.

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