Emigre artists and their cultural impact

This afternoon I met Ilona Bossanyi in person for the first time and was reminded of the impact that emigre artists have had on British culture. 

Ilona contacted me after reading an article I wrote for Church Times looking at influential works by émigré Jewish artists, now under threat. The article mentioned her grandfather Ervin Bossanyi, as well as Naomi Blake, Ernst Müller-Blensdorf, Hans Feibusch, and George Mayer-Marton, telling stories of the impact of migration on the work and reputations of these artists and the current threat to certain of their works.  

Ilona told me about the chequered history of the stained glass window made by her grandfather for the Tate Gallery which was removed from the building during renovations and not returned. After hearing of this story, Artlyst agreed to publish an interview with Ilona exploring the story of her grandfather's migration to the UK, subsequent career as a prominent stained glass artist, plus the complications of the commission for the Tate, the lack of recognition of the artist once the window was installed, and its subsequent removal combined with the removal of reference to its being in the collection although held within its store. 

For Ilona, this story encapsulates many of the difficulties encountered by emigre artists combined with the lack of recognition now afforded to them and their work.  

The Insiders Outsiders Festival and the Ben Uri Gallery have been particularly effective in seeking to redress the balance by paying tribute to the indelible contribution of the artists, photographers, writers, architects, designers, actors, film-makers, dancers and musicians, as well as art historians, dealers and publishers, who in fleeing Nazi-dominated Europe in the 1930s so greatly enriched British culture. Books on the subject include the Insiders Outsiders book, Their Safe Haven by Robert Waterhouse, and Art in Exile by Douglas Hall.

I wrote for Artlyst about two exhibitions of work by German refugee artists at Ben Uri Gallery and reviewed their exhibition of Polish emigre artists for Church Times. The latter included work by Marian Bohusz-Szyszko and other exiled Polish artists such as Stanislaw Frenkiel, Adam Kossowski, Henryk Gotlib, Marek Zulawski and Alexander Zyw. I also wrote about Bohusz-Szyszko's fascinating story for Church Times and ArtWay.

The church in the UK played a part in this story by providing commissions for a significant number of emigre artists and during my sabbatical in 2014 I visited some of the churches that had provided such commissions including churches decorated by Adam Kossowski.

Ilona and I reflected on the interest and value that there would be in an exhibition showing work by such artists as these, particularly that which explores religious themes, in order to explore issues of migration, interfaith dialogue, church/art engagement, and the cultural impact of emigre artists.

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Gregory Porter - I Will.