Printmaker, book illustrator, painter, Stefan Mrozewski was born in Czéstochowa, and spent his childhood in Sosnowiec, in the coal coal mining region of Poland. Died in Walnut Creek, California. At a very early age, he made the decision to become an artist. By 1911, he had already submitted his drawings to a national exhibition dealing with the theme “The Art and the Child”, organised by the Fine Arts Society in Lwow.
He began his artistic studies at the Jerzy Lehman School of Drawing in Òød*, then he continued his studies at the State School for Decorative Arts in Poznaµ, at the Mehoffer School of Drawing and Painting in Krakøw, and finally at the Warsaw School of Fine Arts, where he was a student of W¬adys¬aw Skoczylas.
He was a member of the Society of Graphic Artists “Ryt”, and of the Association of the Polish Graphic Artists. Recognized as a printmaker he also exelled in stained glass, mural painting and pastel. He lived mostly abroad, in France, the Netherlands, England, Wales, Italy, and the United States. He illustrated many great works of world literature, among whom can be the mentioned Dante, Mickiewicz, Joinville, von Eschenbach, Villon, Cervantes, Sienkiewicz, Coleridge.
Mrozewski’s oeuvre was remarkably fertile and rich. The artist created his own style. His artistic production was marked by a diversity of form and content, dynamism, and an unusual imagination. The texture of his works rested on a mastery of the technique of multiple burin (Vélo) and needle. The result was a formidable array of shades of black and grey. His compositions were often inspired by the Holy Scripture, Greek mythology, the Middle Ages, Polish history, and by the events on city streets, and landscapes. Among contemporary wood-engravers he was virtually the only portraitist - his sitters included G.B. Shaw, G.K. Chesterton, H.G Wells. Mrozewski's prints are in permament collections of several public art collections in Europe and North America.
The artist was married to Irena Blizinska, who was totally devoted to his art. An ardent patriot, he was a volunteer in the Polish Army in the war against the Soviet Union in 1920, as well as during WWII when he servrd in Armia Krajowa, the cladestine Polish Home Army.