Franciszka WYCZÓŁKOWSKA, Grapes and cyclamen

Watercolor, pencil, paper, 54 x 78 cm, signed l.d.: Dear Mrs. Karolina Michalska F. Wyczółkowska 1916.

Born in Przegini Narodowa near Krakow. Commonly known as Franusia, since 1916 wife of Leon Wyczółkowski, who succumbed to the persuasions of Idalia Pawlikowska and, like Rydel, Wyspiański and Tetmajer before him, married a woman of peasant origin. She is remembered for brokering the sale of her husband's paintings and successful negotiations. Joint dedications under the works they offered as gifts have survived. After the painter's death, she bequeathed his collection to the city of Bydgoszcz, laying the foundation of the collection of the District Museum there.