Barbara Kaczmarowska – Hamilton, known as Basia Hamilton was born in Sopot, Poland. Graduated from the Academy of Art in Gdansk and then continued her studies at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice and Rome. The artist became internationally famous thanks to her great skill in the art of portraiture. She specialises in portraits in oil and pastels.
Regarded by many as the “Ambassador of Poland in the West”, she is listed among the 50 citizens of Polish ethnic background, who made a significant impact on the life and history of the British Isles, among General Anders, Joseph Conrad, King Canute and Roman Polanski.
Her sitters include: His Holiness Pope John Paul II, H.M. Queen Elisabeth The Queen Mother, H.R.H. Princess Royal, H.R.H. The Duke of Kent, H.R.H. Prince Michael of Kent, Lech Walesa, H.R.H. The Maharaja of Jodhpur, H.R.H. Duke of Braganza, Princess Tatiana Metternich, Margaux Hemingway, Alberto Moravia, Giorgio de Chirico, Buzz Aldrin, and many others who all together constitute “the Hall of Fame” in her gallery.
In 1994, the Polish President and the Noble Prize Winner Lech Walesa awarded Basia Hamilton with the Order of Merit – “in recognition of her precious contribution to the spreading of Polish culture and art”.
She lives in Berkshire, UK, with her husband Ian and their sons Felix and Maximilian, and divides her working time between her studio in London, and travelling world-wide.
2nd Prize, 33rd Festival of Arts, BWA, Sopot
Bronze Medal, Polish Contemporary Painting Festival
Gold Medal, 3rd Biennale of Gdansk Art, Gdansk
2nd Prize – Biennale of Contemporary Art, Rome
1st Prize Exhibition of Contemporary Art, Rome
Bronze Medal, 4th Review of Contemporary Art, Fontana di Trevi
International Exhibition of Paintings and Sculptures of Young Artists, Rome
Order of Merit from Polish Government for promoting Polish Art and Culture in International arena
Order Bene Merito from Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2015
Zacheta Gallery, Warsaw
Royal Pastel Society, The Mall Galleries
Royal Portrait Society, London
Gdansk, 10th Festival of Polish Contemporary Art
Rome, Palazzo Nazionale
Rome, National Biennale of Modern Art
Venezia, Bevilaqua La Masa
Royal Lazienki Gallery, Warsaw
Residence of the British Ambassador, Warsaw
Partridge Gallery, London
European Academy for the Arts, London
Accademia Italiana, London
Polish Cultural Institute, London
Palm Beach, Florida
Liguanea Club Kingston, Jamaica
Polish Hearth, London
Palm Beach, Florida
Palm Springs, California
Polish Museum, Sikorski Institute, London
Palm Springs, California
Palm Beach, Florida
Gdansk, Sieñ Gdañsk
Galleria Il Trittico via Margutta
Cassel Gallery, London
Penellaccio, Rome
Gallery Picasso, Sassari
Gallery 8, Sopot, Poland
In today’s world of Modern Art, Barbara Hamilton stands out because of her unmistakable classical style. The artist is fascinated by the mystery of the individual subject and concentrates al her attention on the way the person looks to her. The eyes of her subjects, at times dominated by the arch of an eyebrow, at other times relaxed or entangled, and held together by small, endless lines of expression, emit the essence of her subject and his or her uniqueness. The beauty and refinement and mastery of Barbara Hamilton’s craft in her portraits all move me.
Barbara Kaczmarowska Hamilton is well within the swagger tradition of portraiture, her panache and bravura conjuring recolections of de Laszlo and Kennington. She has tender insights too, perceptive probing masked by informality.
I have admired Basia’s work for many years. I am thrilled to have Alexander and Sophie’s portraits hanging in pride of place in my sitting room. As always she has captured the essence of her subjects. As well as being excellent likenesses, the portraits show the nascent strength of the children’s characters together with innocence of their youth.
The portraits created with the sweet smile and profound gaze of Polish-born Barbara Hamilton have no need of time to resemble their subjects. In a flash Barbara captures the person’s features, character and personality. Barbara has a magical eye, exceptional perceptiveness, and her own inimitable style.
I am so happy that we had decided to do the portrait of my son Manfred with his beloved Bosco at that time. This painting captures so perfectly his shy, innocent smile and his beloved Bosco. It is a permanent reminder of the time of childhood and a pleasure for all the family.
The portraitist has always played an invaluable role in depicting the fashions and manners of the day. It is therefore very encouraging to find that this tradition is still flourishing and being kept alive by today’s generation of portrait painters, among whom Barbara Kaczmarowska Hamilton has achieved notable reputation, both in this country and abroad for the vigour and insight of her work.
In her portraits of children, as in that of my grandson Columbus, Barbara Kaczmarowska Hamilton has an extraordinary ability to capture the essence of a child’s freshness and beauty.
The sitter is immediately recognizable, and yet the artist’s style is quite unmistakable. It is a rare and satisfying combination. We must be grateful that, after a successful career as an abstract and semi-surrealist artist, following a full academic training in Poland, she turned her gifts to portraiture.
There is no one better then Basia at capturing the delicacy of youth and innocence in pastels. I am thrilled to have Basia’s portraits of my daughters which will be a permanent reminder of their childhood.