Exposition “Christo Stefanoff, forgotten painter of War and Peace”

Christo Stefanoff

Christo Stefanoff (1898-1966) was an internationally successful artist. He painted landscapes, religious works, war scenes and portraits of people, including stars such as Greta Garbo and royalty such as Queen Juliana. In 1934 he came to Poland, fell in love with the country and with the Polish Irena Pludowska. In 1938 he was naturalized as a Pole. After the German invasion in 1939 he became active in the Żegota, the Polish Council for Aid to Jews. In 1944 he was arrested, but survived two prisons and three German concentration camps.

After his liberation in April 1945 from Bergen-Belsen he moved, like many displaced Poles, to the Polish enclave near Maczków. Here his talent was noticed. He taught drawing and painting and rose to become the court painter of the 1st Polish Armoured Division. On October 28, 1946, in the context of the second commemoration of the liberation of Breda, the large triptych he had painted was donated to the Municipality of Breda by the 1st Polish Armoured Division.

During his years in Breda, Stefanoff was very active. He painted his most important works here, including his impressive series on the Warsaw Uprising. In 1947, he was involved in the founding of the Polish Catholic Association in Breda, of which he was also chairman.

In 1952, he moved to Canada, with all the (unsold) work he had made in Breda. He died in 1966. Due to a theft shortly afterwards, his wife closed his studio and museum to the public until her own death in 2005. Her 76-year-old Polish nephew is now trying to manage the estate, but struggles with the burden. The old studio with Stefanoff's estate, with more than 150 of his original works, has therefore remained untouched to this day.

The exhibition

The exhibition was put together by Frans Wauters from Breda, who was born under a painting by Stefanoff and grew up among his works. Christo Stefanoff lived in Breda with his (grand)parents and paid for his board and lodging with his paintings. Frans has been doing research for more than 2 years and is the global expert on the life and work of Stefanoff.

This exhibition shows the most important works about the Polish struggle that Stefanoff made in Breda. The exhibition also contains many original documents and photos from Stefanoff's time in Breda that were recently found by Frans Wauters in his old studio in Canada.

The selected works emphasize "Peace and Freedom", values ​​that Stefanoff radiated in his life and work. These fit in well with the values ​​of the Maczek Memorial Breda. The courage of the Polish people during the Second World War, and the Polish armed forces in the liberation of Europe, are thus illuminated in a completely new way through Stefanoff's art.

The 80th anniversary of the liberation of Breda (on 29 October) and the celebration of Polish Independence Day (on 11 November) both fall within the exhibition period.

The exhibition is supported by a special catalogue in which Stefanoff's life and the works exhibited at this exhibition are described in detail.