Erna Rosenstein (UKRAINIAN-POLISH 1913-2004)

Lot description

ERNA ROSENSTEIN (UKRAINIAN-POLISH 1913-2004) Abstract with Blue and Red, 1994 water color and crayon on paper 16 x 17.5 cm (6 1/4 x 6 7/8 in.) framed dimensions: 24 x 29 cm (9 1/2 x 11 3/8 in.) dated lower left, signed lower right CONDITION Observed out of the frame, the work is in very good condition. No visible issues to report. PROVENANCE The Stanisław and Alicja Jonas Collection LOT NOTES Lots 25 through 71 in this auction, are being offered directly from the Estate of the esteemed Polish art collectors, Stanisław and Alicja Jonas, two remarkable individuals whose lives were defined by resilience, intellect, and a profound dedication to the arts. Stanisław Jonas, a survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto, built a life of purpose and compassion in New York as a respected psychiatrist and counselor. His deep appreciation for the arts was more than a personal passion; it was an extension of his worldview and a form of cultural preservation. Alicja Jonas, a gifted pianist, composer, and teacher, brought her own artistic brilliance to their shared life. Having endured the hardships of wartime Poland, she immigrated to the United States in the late 1960s to reunite with Stanisław and dedicated her career to music education and composition. Together, the Jonas’s created a home filled with creativity, conversation, and artistic exploration. Their art collection reflects not only a refined aesthetic sensibility but also a lifetime of personal connections with artists and gallerists. Many of the works were acquired directly from artists whose work they admired and whose friendships they cultivated. Their relationships with key figures in the Polish and New York art scenes were essential to the development of their collection. Among the artists represented are Barbara Falender, known for her intimate sculptural forms; Rafał Olbiński, celebrated for his dreamlike surrealism; Stanisław Młodożeniec, whose expressive color and form shaped postwar Polish painting; and Krystyna Brzechwa, whose delicate compositions reflect a poetic sensibility. The collection also includes two exceptional works by Henryk Stażewski, one of the leading figures of the Polish avant-garde and a pioneer of geometric abstraction in Eastern Europe. These pieces, rare in both quality and provenance, anchor the collection in the broader trajectory of modernist innovation. Over the years, the Jonas’s cultivated meaningful relationships with several galleries that supported emerging and established Polish artists, including the Zabriskie Gallery, and Z. Michael Legutko Gallery. Their collecting was never speculative; it was personal, intentional, and grounded in dialogue, friendship, and shared cultural history. This auction offers not only a selection of fine works of art but also a portrait of a life deeply engaged with the creative world. Each piece in this collection tells a story of connection, conviction, and cultural continuity. To collect from the Jonas estate is to inherit a piece of this remarkable legacy. We are honored to present the Stanisław and Alicja Jonas Collection, a testament to two lives lived with courage, elegance, and unwavering dedication to art. ADDITIONAL NOTES Erna Rosenstein was a prominent painter, poet, and key figure in postwar avant-garde art in Poland, born in Lviv, Ukraine. Her work is deeply rooted in personal trauma and historical memory, shaped by the horrors of the Holocaust. During World War II, she survived the Nazi occupation by living under a false identity. Tragically, her parents were murdered by the guide who was supposed to help them escape. Rosenstein's style merged surrealist motifs with a haunting sense of absence and grief. Her paintings often feature dreamlike landscapes, abstracted figures, and recurring symbols of death and rebirth—such as birds, eggs, and veils. In recent years has Rosenstein gained wider international recognition and exhibited by such renowned spaces as Hauser and Wirth. Rosenstein was a founding member of the Second Krakow Group, closely associated with notable contemporaries such as Tadeusz Kantor and Jonasz Stern. Refusing the constraints of official art doctrines, she merged lyrical abstraction with the intuitive practices of automatism and surrealist poetics, creating work that was radically personal yet universally resonant. In the 1960s and '70s, Rosenstein turned to assemblage, incorporating found objects, bone, glass, and domestic fragments—transforming debris into powerful vessels of memory. These intimate, sculptural works are increasingly regarded as among the most significant contributions to feminist and Holocaust-related art of the era. Rosenstein’s recognition has seen significant growth in recent years, with major institutional exhibitions—such as the 2021-2022 retrospective Once Upon a Time at the Jewish Museum in New York. Collectors and institutions alike have begun to reframe her work as a cornerstone of postwar European art, particularly in dialogues surrounding female surrealism, trauma, and cultural memory. Keywords: Ukrainian-Polish Artist, Easter European Art, Abstract Expressionism, Polish Women Artists, Ukrainian Women Artists, Abstract Art, Post-War European Art N.B. Condition reports are available upon request. All lots are sold in as-is condition at the time of sale. Please note that any condition statement regarding works of art is given as a courtesy to our clients in order to assist them in assessing the condition. The report is a genuine opinion held by Shapiro Auctions and should not be treated as a statement of fact. The absence of a condition report or a photograph does not preclude the absence of defects or restoration, nor does a reference to particular defects imply the absence of any others. Shapiro Auctions, LLC., including its consultants and agents, shall have no responsibility for any error or omission.