born: November 13, 1906 in Kozienice, Poland
died: May 15, 1997 in Tarnów, Poland
buried: Krzyż cemetery in Tarnów – section 15, row 1, grave 157
Fates before joining Anders Army :
Before World War II, Stanisław Westwalewicz graduated from the State Philological Gymnasium in Radom. In the years 1928-1933 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow under the supervision of professors Włodzimierz Jarecki, Ignacy Pieńkowski, Karol Frycz and Fryderyk Pantsch. His first individual exhibition of works took place in 1937 at the Palace of Art in Cracow. A graduate of the Reserve Infantry Cadet School in Zambrów – platoon leader with a census.
In September 1939, he volunteered for the Polish Army. He served in the rank of second lieutenant (officer’s rank due to completed university studies). On September 19, 1939, he was taken prisoner by the Soviets in Dolna. Prisoner of the Soviet camps for prisoners of war in Kozielsk, Juchnów, and in the period of June 18, 1940-1941 in Griazowiec. In the Kozielsk camp, he made about 500 portraits of Polish officers imprisoned there, he documented camp life with his drawings. It was here that his friendship with the future Fr. Zdzisław Peszkowski started. They both survived together with other prisoners of Kozielsk, who were in the last transport to the Katyn forests. Released under the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement in September 1941.
Military history:
On September 3, 1941, he joined the newly formed Polish Armed Forces in the USSR in Tockoje and in 1942 evacuated with Polish troops to the Middle East. He was assigned to a field printing house publishing the weekly “Orzeł Biały”. He was the head of the Field Printing House at the Headquarters of the 2nd Corps, belonging to the Propaganda and Education Office of the Polish 2nd Corps. He went through the entire combat trail of the 2nd Corps. After reaching Italy, he moved to the graphic section of the Education Department of the Polish 2nd Corps in Naples. He was the author of many paintings and graphics documenting the combat trail of the 2nd Corps, as well as the well-known propaganda poster “Monte Cassino – For your freedom and ours / Per la vostra e la nostra liberta”. In 1945, he participated in the founding of the international association of artists “Circolo Artistico Internazionale” (Art-Club) in Rome. Together with the 2nd Corps, he evacuated to Great Britain, where he ended his service in the Polish Army.
Post-War:
He returned to Poland in 1947. In 1951, he settled in Pilzno near Tarnów, the hometown of his wife Wanda. In 1962, the artist moved permanently to Tarnów. He was the author of a large number of paintings, drawings and graphics, mainly landscapes, portraits, but also monumental sacral art, which can be seen in many churches in Tarnów and the surrounding area. Valued doyen of Tarnów artists, long-term president of the Association of Polish Artists and Designers in Tarnów. He had 60 individual exhibitions of his works in Poland and abroad. Stanisław Westwalewicz died in Tarnów in 1997 and in the same year one of the streets in this city was named after him. In 2016, the collection of his works from the family was purchased by the District Museum in Tarnów. They are also in the resources of the Regional Museum in Pilzno (Podkarpackie Province). They have been presented in recent years at subsequent exhibitions in Polish museums.
