For ten years, painter Basil Alkazzi supported the National Museum in Gdańsk, donating both his own works and those of other international artists, whilst also funding the acquisition of works by young Polish painters. From 25 October, the Abbots’ Palace will host an exhibition dedicated to him, on view until 1 March next year.

Through Alkazzi’s generosity, the Museum received 149 works by 43 artists from the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and Latvia. Among them are major figures of contemporary art such as John Hedgecoe, David Hockney, Joe Tilson, Paul Huxley and Keith Vaughan, as well as younger artists, many of whom were laureates of prizes established by Alkazzi. These include the Royal College of Art Scholarship in London (since 1986) and The Basil H. Alkazzi Award in the United States (since 1987). More than 90 young artists have benefitted from the Royal College of Art scholarships alone.

One of Alkazzi’s final gifts to the Museum was an exceptional work by David Hockney: Tower of Set, Study for a Closer Grand Canyon (oil pastel, 1998), one of the sketches from nature created in preparation for the monumental composition now in the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, Denmark. Alongside the earlier donated etchings Sunflower I–II, these remain the only works by Hockney held in Polish museum collections.

Thanks to funds provided by Alkazzi, the Museum was also able to purchase 220 works, allowing it to build the largest collection in Polish museums of paintings by artists who made their debut after 2000.

“This exhibition is a tribute to Basil Alkazzi, who became a true friend and patron of the Museum,” says Piotr Stasiowski, Director of the National Museum in Gdańsk. “It is thanks to people like him that museums are able to expand their collections and share art with the widest possible audience. There are few such individuals, and their role as partners of public institutions is beyond price. I am profoundly grateful that Basil Alkazzi chose the Gdańsk museum.”

“Alkazzi also established a fund in honour of Halima Nalecz, the painter and owner of Drian Galleries in London, who supported his career. Her 1983 gift of more than 360 works by artists from her London gallery was the first donation ever made to our Museum,” adds Wojciech Zmorzyński, who curated the exhibition together with Maria Szymańska-Korejwo.

Basil Alkazzi was born in 1938 on a ship travelling from Kuwait to the United Kingdom. He studied at the Central School of Art in London. His career gained momentum in 1973 when he was invited to take part in the prestigious Chelsea Arts Society exhibition at the Chenil Galleries in London. A few years later, his first solo exhibition, Recent Works 1974–76, was held at Drian Galleries, run by Halima Nalecz, where he went on to have five solo shows. His friendship and collaboration with Nalecz became a milestone in his artistic journey.

The collection Alkazzi donated to the Museum includes 26 of his own works from the last decades of his career, shown together here for the first time. He favoured drawing, watercolour and gouache – demanding and technically challenging mediums. Always something of an outsider, he created outside the artistic mainstream. His painting affirms the world: attentive, observant and capable of reducing reality to its essence. His art is a profound meditation on the beauty and experience of nature. In an age of constant change and instability, Alkazzi offered quiet, spiritual painting, always faithful to his vision and artistic purpose.

Alongside Alkazzi’s own works, the exhibition will present selected pieces from the collection he donated, including works by Matthew Burrows, Graham Crowley, John Hedgecoe, David Hockney, Paul Huxley, Nana Shiomi, Paul Storey, Renny Tait, Joe Tilson, Isabel Young, as well as works by young Polish painters acquired over the past three years, including Sławomir Elsner, Dorota Borowa, Dobrawa Borkała and Aneta Kajzer. The whole collection made possible by Alkazzi’s support will be available to explore in a multimedia format.