Polish-born painter of British royal family honoured
PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk
09.03.2016 15:29
UK-based artist Barbara Kaczmarowska-Hamilton has received the Bene Merito Honorary Distinction. The honour is awarded by the Minister of Foreign Affairs to Poles and foreigners for promoting Poland abroad.
Photo: Flickr.com/ Peter Miller
During a presentation ceremony in London, the Polish Ambassador in the UK, Witold Sobków, said that Kaczmarowska-Hamilton uses her talent and personal charisma to promote a positive image of Poland.
Talking to a Polish Radio reporter, the artist said that she has been able to help raise funds for London’s ‘Ognisko Polskie’, an important centre of the life of the Polish community.
“Having an opportunity to paint portraits of such celebrities as Winston Churchill’s granddaughter and Nikolai Tolstoy (an Anglo-Russian writer) I was able to ask them to lobby in their speeches for the support of Ognisko Polskie,” she said.
Kaczmarowska Hamilton is known as Basia to family, friends, and her distinguished sitters, who have included the Queen Mother, Pope John Paul II, Margaret Thatcher and Polish President Lech Wałęsa.
Born in Sopot on Poland’s Baltic coast, the artist studied in Poland and Italy. Having settled in the UK, she became internationally famous thanks to her talent in portraiture. (mk/pk)