Feliks Topolski

1907 - 1989

Topolski was born in Warsaw, Poland and studied at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts (1925-30). He was a prolific contributor of illustrations to books and periodicals in Poland but at the outbreak of World War II he settled in England, becoming a naturalized British subject in 1947. In Britain he became an official war artist to the Polish Forces, depicting the Blitz and the Battle of Britain, recording the bombed streets and scenes of wartime London life. In 1941 he travelled to Russia as a member of a Polish Diplomatic Mission and went on to serve widely overseas. Following the war he published selections of drawing and began designing for the theatre. In 1951 he made a series of largescale decorations for the Festival of Britain. Works by him are in the British Museum, Tate Gallery, Imperial War Museum and in Poland.