Andrzej Galek (1916-1993), "Highlander Dance," 1960s. Zakopane.

Painting painted on glass by Andrew Galka. 1960s. XX century. Zakopane Pattern Workshop. Signed in the lower left corner: A. Gałek. On the reverse a sticker from Zakopane Pattern Workshops. Dimensions: whole with frame: 29 x 33.5 cm.

Painter from Zakopane, son of landscape painter Stanislaw Gałek. Studied at the State Gymnasium in Zakopane, from which he graduated in 1935. In 1935-39 and 1945-49 he studied at the Faculty of Architecture of the Warsaw University of Technology, and in 1949 received the title of engineer architect and master of technical sciences. He had already taken an interest in glass painting before the war, initially copying paintings from the collection of the Tatra Museum, and then making attempts to create his own compositions. Immediately after the war, in 1945, his works on glass were exhibited at exhibitions of visual artists in Zakopane. These works were purchased by the Ministry of Culture and Art, and the Art Section of the Art Industry Headquarters ordered a larger number. The artist established a long-term cooperation with "Cepelia", which emerged from the CPA, and later sold his works through the DESA Foreign Trade Office in Warsaw and "Ars Polonia". In 1946, he was admitted to the Association of Polish Artists in Cracow, then was active in the Zakopane district. He was a member of the "Podhale Art" Association in Zakopane. His paintings were dominated by regional themes - he painted everyday highlander work and activities (in the field and in the forest, in workshops and at home ), illustrated customs and highlander songs (which he often quoted in the composition of his paintings), eagerly took up the subject of brigands and hunting scenes. He did not shy away from humorous and casual scenes, often depicting booze-fueled hookups, parties and courtships.