Josephine Junosza (1872-1966) Polish, 1904 Portrait Oil on Canvas. This piece was painted in San Diego, and wound up with the descendants of the family of the Polish military leader Jozef Matecki, who served with armies under the command of three different countries. Signed and dated upper right. 

Overall: 39 X 28 1/2 in. 

Sight: 32 1/4 X 21 3/4 in. 

Depth: 2 1/4 in. 

#3743 . 

Josephine Junosza (born Józefa de Junosza Łosakiewicz) was born in Niegosławice, Poland in 1872. Her family was artistic, with her older sister going on to become an actress and concert pianist and her older brother becoming a famous Polish journalist. She studied under the painter Wasily Gerson in his drawing class in Warsaw in 1890, where she met fellow artist Stanisław Pstrokoński-Poraj (1871-1954). Although they did not officially marry until much later, they had a son, Stanislas, in 1899, who grew up to be a painter, decorator and musician, as well as a veteran of both World Wars. Josephine and her son moved to France together in 1901 so she could study with the French Academic Painter Luc-Olivier Merson. They traveled extensively over the next two decades, including a long period in America where she was actively painting in San Diego, California as part of the San Diego Art Association. She returned to Paris in 1920 to be with Stanisław, where they lived out the rest of their days, making art together. Stanisław passed away in 1954, and Josephine followed him on February 6th, 1966. Their work is less well known due to the turmoil that beset Europe in the early 20th Century, but their portraits, landscapes, and other paintings can be found in museums and private collections around the world.