Restoring a Legacy: The Robinsons' Mission to Reunite the Works of Władysław Brzosko with His Homeland
For Mary and Gary Robinson, the pursuit of Władysław Brzosko’s scattered body of work is far more than an art collection project — it is a heartfelt journey of remembrance, restoration, and tribute. Over the past several years, the Robinsons have quietly and passionately tracked down Brzosko’s paintings, sculptures, and sketches from private hands and obscure collections. Their dream? To return these masterpieces to Poland, where the artist’s legacy can be properly honored — and where a piece of Mary’s own rediscovered heritage also belongs.
Mary’s Awakening: A Personal Tie to Poland
Mary’s connection to this mission is both intellectual and emotional. In recent years, she discovered her own Polish ancestry — a revelation that awakened a deep and unexpected bond with the country, its culture, and its resilient, soulful people.
“I felt something shift in me,” she says. “There was this sense of home I couldn’t explain. Visiting Poland — walking the streets of Frombork, Kraków, Warsaw — it felt like coming full circle. I knew I wanted to do something meaningful for the people of Poland, something lasting.”
Honoring Władysław Brzosko — a fellow child of Polish heritage whose life was shaped by exile, war, resistance, and artistic brilliance — has become Mary’s way of expressing gratitude to her roots. This mission is not just about an artist; it’s about honoring the strength and spirit of the Polish people through the return of a national treasure.
Władysław Brzosko: A Life Woven with Exile, War, and Vision
Born in 1912 in exile in Siberia to Polish parents, Brzosko’s life was marked by global displacement and personal resilience. He trained in the fine arts in Warsaw, endured the horrors of World War II as a member of the Polish Resistance, and eventually fled communism to pursue creative freedom abroad.
His body of work — ranging from evocative landscapes to searing political and historical commentary — captures the depth of the Polish soul. Most notably, his “Warsaw Ghetto Series” remains a haunting and powerful reflection of wartime Poland, informed by personal witness to the 1943 uprising and the genocide of the Jewish community.
Though his work has appeared in major institutions like the Smithsonian and the Salon des Nations in Paris, Brzosko remains largely unrecognized in his homeland — a silence Mary and Gary Robinson are determined to break.
A Noble Quest to Bring Art Home
The Robinsons have made it their life’s mission to find and acquire Brzosko’s works, piece by piece, and return them to Poland where they can be appreciated by the very people who inspired them. Their travels have taken them across continents and into remote corners of the art world, but it was in Frombork, Poland — home of the Nicolaus Copernicus Museum — where the mission began to take form.
With the help of an interpreter and a driver, Mary and Gary met with museum officials and discussed a long-term vision: to assemble the largest known collection of Brzosko’s work and establish it in a permanent exhibition space in Poland. A place not just to preserve his legacy, but to celebrate it.
An Invitation to Be Part of History
Mary and Gary Robinson are extending a heartfelt invitation to art owners, collectors, and lovers of Polish history: if you own any of Brzosko’s work — or know someone who does — consider becoming part of this once-in-a-generation effort. Whether through donation or sale, each piece brought home brings the mission closer to completion.
“We believe Brzosko’s legacy is not ours to keep,” Mary says. “It belongs to Poland. It belongs to the people who lived through what he painted. It belongs to the children of survivors, the artists of tomorrow, and to a country whose history he honored with every brushstroke.”
Join Us in Honoring a Great Artist and a Great Nation
This is more than an art project. It’s an act of love. Of remembrance. Of return.
It’s a tribute to a man who painted history with truth and heartbreak, and a gift from one family to a nation that gave the world so much — including Mary’s own ancestors.
Help complete the circle. Help bring Władysław Brzosko home.
To learn more, contribute, or share a lead on one of Brzosko’s works, please contact Mary and Gary Robinson. Together, let’s restore a forgotten master to his rightful place in Poland’s cultural heart.