Otto Maciąg was born in Sopron, Austria-Hungary (now Hungary) to Croatian and Polish parents during the revolution of 1918. Brought up and educated as a cadet in Biala Podklaska, Poland, he later arrived in Scotland with the Polish Army in 1940, after which he studied at Liverpool College of Art (1945–47). Maciąg was an inspirational teacher of art at Monmouth School in Wales for 31 years, and is known for his religious ceramic murals and his paintings inspired by the Welsh landscape.
Painter, ceramist and art teacher, Otto Maciąg was born in Sopron, Austria-Hungary (now Hungary) during the revolution of 1918. His Croatian-born mother was en route to meet his Polish father in Kraków, Poland, having been separated after their home in Višegrad, Austria-Hungary (now Bosnia and Herzegovina) was burnt down. Alongside his brothers Ludwik and Józef, he was one in a trio of visually talented siblings with an interest in the arts. He went to school in Biala Podklaska, Poland, where he later studied at the Anti-Aircraft Cadet Officers School in Trauguttowo in 1938. While participating in the defence of the air force base at Malaszewicze in September 1939, and finding himself trapped between Russian and German invaders, he was captured after crossing the Romanian border. Eventually escaping through the Black and Mediterranean Seas to reach Beirut and then France in 1940, he joined the Polish Army in the West with whom he eventually arrived in Scotland the same year where he was posted to an anti-aircraft artillery station.
Between 1940 and 1943 Maciąg studied wood engraving and linocut classes organised by the distinguished Scottish artists, Winifred and Alison McKenzie, and drew from life at Edinburgh College of Art. After returning to fight in France, Belgium and Holland during 1944–45, he returned to Scotland and then England, where he studied under William Penn at Liverpool College of Art until 1947. Immediately after graduating, Maciąg was appointed head of the art department at Monmouth School in Wales where he would work for 31 years. There, he taught ceramics, painting, drawing, and history of art and architecture, becoming a significantly encouraging and ‘inspirational art teacher’ for many students (Moore, 2022). Referencing the work of 19th century Polish colourist, Jan Matejko (1838-93), Maciąg’s landscape paintings at this time were inspired by the British countryside; the rivers Wye, Monnow and Dee among his favourite subjects to paint. Beside his paintings, Maciąg illustrated the 1970 edition of Soldier Bear by Geoffrey Morgan and W. A. Lasocki, a book based on Wojtek, the so-called soldier-bear of the Polish Land Forces during the Second World War, reflecting his frequent return to war subjects. During his early retirement after 1978, Maciąg modelled clay into two ceramic murals in Monmouth School Chapel (with the help of fellow art master Michael Tovey). His work there was based on designs by his friend, fellow Polish exile, Adam Kossowski (1905-86), whose ceramic works across various Catholic churches and institutions had been greatly inspiring. Other examples of Maciąg’s ceramics and sgraffito can be found in Monmouth at Castle Gate Medical Practice, Monmouth Priory, and the King’s Garden.
In 1995 Maciąg’s works were shown at the Llangibby International Arts Festival in Monmouthshire, Wales alongside those by his sister Anna Maciag. Soon after, A Family of Artists: Otto, Anna, Ludwik Maciąg was published in English and Polish in 1997, in which Susie Martin describes the emotional impact and influences on Maciąg’s work: ‘Both his subjects and his use of colour reflect his long love affair with the Wye Valley and the Welsh borderland. His mastery of the effect of light on landscape gives rise to some extraordinary paintings, in particular, landscapes in moonlight and lamplight, which, always lovingly executed, are evocative of an almost metaphysical longing’ (Bogaczewicz and Ledóchowski).
Otto Maciąg died in Monmouth, Wales in 2000. In 2019 a posthumous exhibition A Celebration of Artist Otto Maciąg was held at Monmouth Museum, accompanied by artworks by his many students through the years, including graphic designer David Evans, sculptor Philip Chatfield, stained glass artist Jim Budd, painter David Parfitt and performance artist Simon Pascoe. The exhibition also showed artists who were inspired by Maciąg’s work, such as Susie Martin and Maciąg’s daughter, Anna. In the UK public domain, his works are held in the collections of the Imperial War Museum, London and Nelson Museum and Local History Centre, Monmouthshire.
Consult items in the Ben Uri archive related to [Otto Maciąg]
Publications related to [Otto Maciąg] in the Ben Uri Library