Stefan was born to Antoni and Julia (nee Wnuk) in Biłgoraj, Poland, on 11 July 1921.

 

Before WW2 and during the Soviet occupation, he studied in Lwów where his artistic career was cut short by the Soviets. His father, a property owner was murdered, and Stefan was sent to a forced labour camp in Siberia. There, he worked building schools for Russian children who had been orphaned because their parents had been imprisoned or murdered for political reasons. Because artistic endeavors were limited, he made chess sets out of bread and playing cards out of trash for his fellow prisoners. Years later, when he became a famous artist, he recalled his traumatic events from the Siberian exile in his autobiography „The Square Sun”.

 

Following the Sikorski-Majski Agreement, Stefan Knapp joined General Anders' army. He didn’t want to serve in the infantry; he wanted to be a pilot. After completing the necessary tests, he was sent to Great Britain. Knapp began his training as a pilot on 29 June 1942 in Hucknall. He served as an officer and pilot in the Polish Air Force in the UK, assigned to the 318 Polish fighter-reconnaissance squadron flying the Supermarine Spitfire. Stefan pursued his art by painting or sketching portraits of his fellow pilots in 318 Squadron.

 

After the war, he remained in London and took advantage of a veteran's stipend to further his studies at the Royal Academy and at the Slade School of Fine Art.

 

His artistic career took off in 1954 when he was recognized as the author of a unique and innovative style and technique, which involved melting glass into pieces of light steel, using specially made furnaces.

 

During the 1960’s he moved away from painting, in favour of creating sculptures and murals. He was also the author of decorations for synagogues. He was the only Pole to receive the prestigious Churchill Fellowship. His paintings can be found in the United Nations HQ in Geneva.

 

During the 1970’s he created one of the largest murals in the world (about 60⨯15 metres) painted on a department store building in New Jersey, United States. Another one of his murals adorns Heathrow Airport, and another one entitled „The Battle of Britain” was once painted in a Warsaw underground station. Many of his paintings and sculptures are in prestigious art galleries and private collections around the world.

 

Stefan maintained close relations with Poland and the Polish people. His astronomy-themed mosaic adorns the walls of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland. One of his paintings depicting the artist’s vision of the universe, was given as a gift to Pope John Paul II.

 

Stefan Knapp passed away suddenly on 12 October 1996 while working in his studio in London. He was 75 years old. Thousands of people attended his funeral in London.

 

 

 

Source & Copyright: Institute of National Remembrance FB post

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