Having previously looked at the pairs, companions, and sets that the Cybis porcelain studio produced, it’s also interesting to see what I call their ‘two-fer’ and ‘trio’ pieces. These are sculptures that have more than one subject, both (or all) being of equal design weight/importance. There was also one sculpture that was composed of four [...]
White Bisque Versions of Cybis Porcelain Sculptures
An interesting characteristic of quite a few Cybis porcelains, especially those that were introduced during the 1950s and 1960s, was the option to purchase them either as white bisque or ‘color’, meaning hand-painted bisque. Before taking a look at how the white versions compared to their decorated counterparts, I should explain that “white bisque” means [...]
Cybis Porcelain ‘Artist’s Proofs’: Are They Always What They Seem?
Sometimes you will see a piece of Cybis porcelain with the letters AP or A.P. near the Cybis signature; those initials stand for ‘artist’s proof.’ This term has long been used in the printmaking industry. It originally meant the first (proofing) run of an edition of prints, which the artist/painter would review and make any changes [...]
Cybis at the 1964 World’s Fair
The 1964 World’s Fair, held at Flushing Meadow Park in Queens County, NY, coincided with the first several years of the ‘golden age’ of the Cybis porcelain studio. It was also the first large-scale opportunity for Cybis to be seen by many people who would have otherwise been unaware of the studio’s existence. The Fair [...]
Nudes by Boleslaw Cybis – Drawings and Paintings
All examples of nudes and semi-nudes by Boleslaw Cybis that have been found to date have been from the 1920s. Almost all of the photographs below are from auction listings at DESA Unicum in Warsaw, from various sales held in 2020 and afterward. Most of the titles below are descriptions only. Dimensions refer to the [...]
Boleslaw Cybis Drawings from the 1940s
Far fewer circa-1940s drawings by Boleslaw Cybis have been found, no doubt because he was busily engaged in settling into his new life in America. Only one item shown below is actually dated as that decade, although several have been attributed (by outside sources) to that timeframe. This pastel-on-paper drawing of a long-haired woman was [...]
Boleslaw Cybis Drawings from the 1930s
Many of the works on paper that were done by Boleslaw Cybis during the 1930s are noticeably different from those he produced in the previous decade. Most of them can be divided into four distinct genres: portraits of Polish people in historical or ethnic costumes; portraits and landscapes during his stay in Libya; landscapes from [...]
Boleslaw Cybis Drawings from the 1920s
This is the first of a series of four Archive posts showing original drawings made by Boleslaw Cybis from the 1920s through the 1940s, sorted by decade. Original paintings appear in their own posts by decade of creation. Cybis’ drawings of nudes appear to date only from the 1920s but in order to keep an [...]
Cybis ‘Tablets of The Law’ – An Oddity
Among the unexpected odds and ends that appeared in the 2019 liquidation auctions of most of the backstock of the Cybis studio was a small piece that I’d not seen mentioned in any of their advertising: a representation of the tablet(s) said to have been brought by Moses from the mountaintop. They are variously referred [...]
Another Cybis Nativity Series in the 1950s?
Isn’t it odd how one mystery can lead to another, entirely different, one? Such was the case with a puzzling single piece of Cybis that surfaced some months ago. It was among a private collection being liquidated by the family of an enthusiastic collector who also knew the studio owners personally from the 1950s onward. [...]
THE CYBIS ARCHIVE 