Franciszka Themerson, Two Pious Persons Making their Way to Heaven, one propellered, one helicoptered, with a little angel below 1951. Tate. © Estate of Franciszka Themerson and Stefan Themerson.
13 rooms in Modern and Contemporary British Art
These films, drawings and paintings mingle tragedy and humour to explore the turbulent years before and after the Second World War
Born Franciszka Weinles in Poland in 1907, Franciszka Themerson trained as a musician, graphic designer and painter in Warsaw. There, she also met her husband, Stefan Themerson. The couple often collaborated as artists. They made five short independent films together in the 1930s, which established them as the most important experimental filmmakers in inter-war Poland.
At a time of rising fascism in Europe, the Themersons’ work challenged social conformity and revealed their belief in individual freedoms. The title of this display is taken from their 1937 film, The Adventure of a Good Citizen. With a central character determined to move forward while walking backwards, it celebrates alternative perspectives on the world.
In 1938, the pair moved to Paris to continue their work. They both volunteered for the Polish army in France but were separated during the war. Following the Nazi invasion in 1940, Franciszka was able to leave for London while Stefan remained in hiding, fearing persecution. In exile, Franciszka had little ability to communicate with her husband in France, or with her Jewish family imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto. Instead, the artist poured her wartime experiences into a series of drawings she called Unposted Letters (1940-42). The couple were reunited in 1942, but only one member of their families survived the Holocaust.
Franciszka and Stefan remained in London for the rest of their lives, where she continued to work across multiple disciplines: drawing, painting, illustration, theatre and book design. In her post-war paintings, three of which are shown here, she portrays a search for meaning. Fluidly drawn into thickly painted surfaces, her unruly figures convey her experience of living in our ‘strange universe’.
Curated by Hilary Floe, Senior Curator, Modern and Contemporary British Art; with Saskia Flower, Assistant Curator, Modern and Contemporary British Art; and Michal Goldschmidt, former Assistant Curator, Modern British Art.
Franciszka Themerson, Two Pious Persons Making their Way to Heaven, one propellered, one helicoptered, with a little angel below 1951
By 1950 Franciszka Themerson had developed a distinctive painting style. She drew small figures into a surface covered in oil paint and placed them within abstract forms. Here, these flying figures refer to her experiences in London. She described spending ‘days in the City, having endless talks with bowler-hatted businessmen who introduced me to the fascinating games of small talk and avoiding issues’. She began to sketch them, putting propellers on their noses and letting them fly. She wondered, ‘how would all these little very important people behave in my abstract canvases?’.
Gallery label, October 2019
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artworks in Franciszka Themerson
Franciszka Themerson, Stefan Themerson, The Adventure of a Good Citizen 1937
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artworks in Franciszka Themerson
Art in this room
Franciszka Themerson
Two Pious Persons Making their Way to Heaven, one propellered, one helicoptered, with a little angel below
1951
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Franciszka Themerson, Stefan Themerson
Europa
1931
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Franciszka Themerson
Escape I
1940
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Franciszka Themerson
Kings Cross tube shelter I
1940
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Franciszka Themerson
Dialogue on Tower Bridge
1941
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Franciszka Themerson
Don’t look
1941
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