Józef Wilkoń (b. 1930), "The Golden-Haired One," 2025

Painting, mixed media, paper, 30x36 cm framed, with mat (15x21 cm unframed), signed "pdr" by the artist, certificate of authenticity.

Józef Wilkoń (born February 12, 1930, in Bogucice near Wieliczka) – Polish illustrator, painter, sculptor, and art historian. He has illustrated nearly two hundred books for children and adults published in Poland and several dozen published abroad. He also works in set design (the Wilam Horzyca Theater in Toruń, 1978) and designs tapestries (the Stanisław Wyspiański Cooperative in Kraków). Nature serves as the inspiration for his work, particularly animals, which he has made the main characters of his stories since the 1980s. Since the 1990s, he has also been creating “spatial illustrations”—that is, animal enclosures made of wooden logs and sheet metal. He has gained international fame and has received numerous awards both in Poland and abroad.