Jan Chelminski (1851 Brzustow - 1925 New York), On a ride, 1875

Origin
DESA Unicum, December 2009
private collection, Poland
DESA Unicum, June 2017
private collection, Warsaw

Biography
He was a pupil of the Warsaw Drawing Class in 1866-68. At the same time, he studied with Juliusz Kossak and worked as a lithographer. He continued his studies in Munich, initially (1873) with A. Straehuber and A. Wagner, and from 1875 in the studio of Jozef Brandt, later with Franz Adam. In 1882 he moved to England, and from 1884, with breaks for trips to Europe, he lived in New York. He made his debut at exhibitions in Krakow and Warsaw's Zachęta, and from 1875 exhibited in Munich, Vienna, Berlin, London and Paris. He was one of the founding members of the Society for the Care of Polish Art, established in Paris in 1897. Initially, he painted hunting scenes and genre scenes in 18th-century costumes, later mainly scenes related to the Napoleonic wars and the Polish legions. Chelminski's work was highly regarded, and his paintings were eagerly purchased by collectors.