MHS Archives: The Art of Jan KamienskiLink to:
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Jan Jakob Kamienski was born in 1923 in Poznan, Poland where he began his art training. After studying in Paris, at Ecole des Arts et Metiers, he attended the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts in Germany, where he studied painting and graphics and earned the designation of Master Student. During the Second World War, he was a member of the Polish Resistance to the Nazi regime.
Kamienski moved to Canada in 1949 and settled in Winnipeg to work as a commercial artist, designer, and illustrator. In 1991, following a successful career as a political cartoonist, art critic, columnist, editorial writer, and arts page editor, he returned to painting full-time. His works can be found in collections in Germany, France, England, Poland, and Canada.
He died at Winnipeg in 2010.
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Jan Jakob Kamienski (1923-2010)
Artists ought to remain motionless only in their self-portraits, or after they are dead and perhaps displayed as bronze statues in honour of their work.
Many of them work long enough to develop a uniquely personal style and stay with it, not daring to step sideways or go forward to explore other avenues.
It has been my good fortune to discover some of those avenues and experiment along their lines, not to find a stylistic pied-a-terre to stay put permanently, but to regard it as a place to rest, reflect and move on from there. This is why my work often varies in manner and approach to its thematic content, and consequently avoids the straitjacket of an immutable style.
- City of Dresden Prize for graphic work, 1947
- Dresdener Kulturbund Prize, 1948
- Art Directors Club,Toronto, 1956
- Prix du Salon International de Caricature, Montreal, 1963
- National Newspaper Award for Editorial Cartooning, 1964
- Winnipeg Sun
- Winnipeg Tribune
- Winnipeg Free Press
- New York Times
- Edmonton Journal
- Calgary Herald
- Vancouver Province
- Ottawa Journal
- TIME Magazine
- MacLean's Magazine
- The Beaver Magazine
- Queen's Quarterly Collections of satirical art in Canada and US
- Hidden in the Enemy's Sight - Resisting the Third Reich from Within (Dundurn Press, Toronto, 2008)
Kamienski is listed in the Chronicle of Canada (1990) and the Canadian Encyclopedia 2000.
The Manitoba Historical Society is displaying these collections of paintings and politican cartoons by the late Jan Kamienski with permission and active collaboration of his family. The MHS is not involved in the sale of the paintings. Those wishing to purchase a work, or seeking further information, should contact the MHS website administrator at webmaster@mhs.mb.ca who will put them in contact with the Kamienski family.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 12 October 2026