Kitchen Conversations about Stanisław Wyspiański

# 65  - about the exhibition Stanisław Wyspiański: Portraits at the National Portrait Gallery in London

In conversations with Alison Smith - curator of the display, previously Chief Curator of the National Portrait Gallery, London and currently Director of Collections and Research at the Wallace Collection.

Stanisław Wyspiański (1869-1907) was a Polish painter, designer, poet and originator of modern Polish Theater. He was also a key figure of the Młoda Polska (Young Poland) art movement that helped keep national identity alive during Poland's partitions.

This podcast episode offers a glimpse into the unique pastel works of Wyspiański, featuring stories of his sitters—including members of the Cracovian intelligentsia—his family, and the artist himself, as well as his decade-long struggle with an illness that profoundly shaped his life and creative output.

The one-room display, showing 16 of Wyspiański's pastel portraits at the National Portrait Gallery in London is free and open to all till the 13th of July 2025. 

References:

About the Exhibition: https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/display/2025/stanislaw-wyspianski-portraits

Exhibition Catalogue: https://npgshop.org.uk/collections/books/products/stanislaw-wyspianski-portraits-hardcover-catalogue

___

This episode was created for Contemporary LYNX and with support of the Polish Cultural Institute London.

Podcast thumbnail: Józio Feldman by Stanisław Wyspiański, 1905. National Museum in Kraków. Photo: Bartosz Cygan/NMK Digitization Studio.

___

Recording & editing: Patrycja Rozwora

Mix & master: Jonas Kröper

Support or get in touch: https://linktr.ee/kitchenconversations