Ben Uri Research Unit

Born: 1923 Grudziądz, Poland

Died: 2002 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Year of Migration to the UK: 1946

Other name/s: Juan Eichler

Biography

Artist Janusz Eichler was born on 15 December 1923 in Grudziądz, Poland, into a military family. His father, Stefan, was a cavalry instructor in the Polish Army, and the family moved frequently with his postings. Eichler began school in Suwałki, but his education was cut short by the Second World War. In 1939, the Eichlers fled to Wilno (now Vilnius, Lithuania) after the Soviet invasion. In 1941, Eichler, his mother, and sister were arrested by the NKVD (Russian secret police) and deported to a Siberian labour camp. Released in 1942 under the Sikorski–Majski agreement, they reunited with Stefan in Samarkand and left the USSR with the Polish Anders Army to return to Europe. Janusz later joined the Polish Second Corps and fought in the Italian campaign, including at Monte Cassino. After the war, he was selected among 49 soldier-artists for a veterans’ art initiative and admitted to the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome. There, he completed the Scuola del Nudo, developing strong technical skills and forming close ties with fellow Polish artists, Ryszard Demel and Leon Piesowocki. In June 1946, he took part in a final group exhibition of Polish painters in Rome, concluding this formative period.

In late 1946, the group of soldier-artists was evacuated to the UK as part of the broader demobilisation effort. Eichler and his peers arrived by ship in Glasgow, Scotland and were transferred to a resettlement camp in England at Waldingfield, Suffolk, where a new Polish art studio was set up under makeshift conditions. Under the continued mentorship of Professor Marian Bohusz-Szyszko, Eichler resumed his studies with intensity and purpose. By 1948, he received a formal diploma from the Polish Studio of Painting and Graphic Arts in exile. The training he had received in Rome was recognised as part of this diploma, which was officially considered equivalent to a four-year art degree.

Thanks to a scholarship, Eichler continued refining his skills in London at the Sir John Cass School of Art, where he focused on composition, still life, design, illustration, and commercial art. He completed the programme with high marks, demonstrating a versatile command of both fine and applied arts. This phase in England also marked Eichler’s public emergence as an artist. He became a member of the Young Artists Association in London and was a founding member of Grupa 49 (Group 49), a collective of Polish émigré artists formed by ex-soldier-students. Between 1947 and 1951, Eichler showed his work in numerous exhibitions in London. Notably, in April 1947 he participated in an Association of Young Artists exhibition at the Kingly Gallery, and was later chosen to deliver the welcome speech at the opening of another Polish art exhibition near Reading—a gesture that signalled the respect he had earned among his peers (Supruniuk 2002/2003, p. 326). Critics quickly took note of his distinctive voice. Alicja Drwęska praised the ‘charm and simplicity’ of his compositions, highlighting his ‘thin, sensitive line’ and subtle colour harmonies (Orzeł Biały 1949, no. 30). Stefania Zahorska, writing in Wiadomości in 1951, described him as the ‘brilliant draughtsman of Group 49’, noting that his line, seemingly effortless, was in fact deeply expressive and accurate. She compared his style to a ‘soprano voice—clear and quiet, yet powerfully suggestive’ (Wiadomości, 1951, no. 40). Bohusz-Szyszko himself commended Eichler’s paintings from this period, including Pastwisko and Pasterz, for their refined colour masses and individual voice (Życie, 1950, no. 5). This extended period of study and exhibition activity in England not only provided Eichler with a solid academic grounding and exposure to international artistic circles, but also a supportive network of fellow Polish artists.

In 1951, having completed his studies and built a credible exhibition record in Britain, Eichler emigrated to Argentina, where his sister had already settled. He initially worked in a rubber toy factory and later as an illustrator, while painting in a modest studio in Máximo Paz. Over time, his style shifted from realism to a more dreamlike, fantastical language. Working-class neighbourhoods like La Boca, where he later lived, left a lasting mark on his art. In the 1950s and ’60s, he gained recognition through solo exhibitions at major galleries such as Galería Pizarro (1956), Viscontea (1957), Libertad (1959), and Riobóo (1961), and showed widely across Latin America. A close friendship with writer Witold Gombrowicz proved instrumental—Gombrowicz promoted his work and helped organise his first major solo show. Eichler later received the Konex Prize (1982) for surrealist painting and was honoured with retrospectives at the Museo de Arte Moderno (1975) and Galería Galatea (1985). His painting—described as a blend of surrealism and magical realism—was praised for its psychological depth, tonal subtlety, and poetic vision. Though he never returned to Poland, he remained active in the émigré community, contributing drawings to Kultura (Paris). Janusz Eichler died in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 24 August 2002. His work is not currently held in UK public collections.

Related books

Katarzyna Lewandowska, Janusz Eichler (1923-2002): Katalog Prac Ze Zbiorów Muzeum Uniwersyteckiego w Toruniu [Janusz Eichler (1923–2002): Catalogue of Works from the Collection of the University Museum in Toruń] (Toruń: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika, 2017)
Magdalena Szwejka, ‘Janusz (Juan) Stefan Eichler (1923-2002)’, Rocznik Grudziądzki, Vol. 19, 2011, pp. 380-385
Martha Grinberg, Oil Paintings and Collages by Janusz Eichler (Woodland Hills: San Miguel Press, 2006)
Witold Gombrowicz, 'Co Wiem o Eichlerze?', in Publicystyka, wywiady, teksty różne 1939–1963 (Krakow: 1996)
Maria Świeczewska, 'Tęcza Zaklęta w Formę', Głos Polski (Buenos Aires), No. 43, 1975
Witold Gombrowicz, Dziennik (1953–1956) (Paris: Instytut Literacki, 1957)
Marian Bohusz-Szyszko, 'Do Moich Przyjaciół', Życie, no. 5, 1950

Related organisations

Accademia di Belle Arti, Rome (student)
Polish Studio of Painting and Graphic Arts in Exile, Waldingfield, England (student)
Sir John Cass School of Art (student)

Selected exhibitions

Farewell Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings by Janusz Eichler, Grupa 49, exact venue unknown (1951)
Grupa 49 Exhibition, exact venue unknown (1951)
Young Contemporaries Exhibition. Art Students of Great Britain, exact venue unknown (1950)
Young Artists Association. First Annual Exhibition. Painting, Drawings, Sculpture, Kingly Gallery, London (1947)

Ben Uri archive

Consult items in the Ben Uri archive related to [Janusz Eichler ]