Antoni Stefanowicz

Antoni Stefanowicz (1858, Tovtry - 17 December 1929, Lwów) was a Polish painter and art teacher of Armenian ancestry; specializing in portraits.

Biography

His parents, Kajetan and Emilia, were major landowners. From 1876 to 1879, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, with Carl Wurzinger, Christian Griepenkerl, and August Eisenmenger. After graduating, he worked as a teacher of drawing in Drohobycz. His first showing came in 1883, at an exhibition of the Kraków Society of Friends of Fine Arts, and was awarded the title of Professor in 1887. He left Drohobycz in 1893, to take a similar teaching position in Lwów. That same year he became a member, then deputy director of the Examination Commission for Teachers; a position he held until 1905. From 1902, he was a member of the , and was instrumental in reorganizing the methods of drawing instruction.

In addition to his portraits, he created genre scenes and religious art, as well as decorations at the Theatre of Opera and Ballet (1900). He was also an advisor to Archbishop Józef Teodorowicz, regarding restoration of the Armenian Cathedral. In his final years, he wrote poetry.

After World War II, many of his paintings remained in what is now Lviv, Ukraine, at the National Art Gallery, and in Chernivtsi. They may also be seen at the National Museum, Wrocław, and in Gliwice.