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« 2025. # 6 (186)

The Ethnology Notebooks. 2025. № 6 (186), 1389—1407

UDK 75.044:069.9:061.2(477+438)”19″

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/

CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN OLENA KULCHYTSKA AND THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS OF THE FINE ARTS IN LVIV (1908–1913)

SEMCHYSHYN-HUZNER Olesia

  • ORCID ID:  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9677-995X
  • Сandidate of Arts (Ph. D),
  • Senior Researcher,
  • The  Andrey Sheptytsky  National Museum in Lviv,
  • Department of Ukrainian Art  of the  19th—20th centuries,
  • 20, Svobody Avenue, 79008, Lviv, Ukraine,
  • Contacts: e-mail: olesiasem17@gmail.com

Abstract. Introduction. The artistic environment of Lviv from the last third of the 19th century until the outbreak of the First World War was a multifaceted phenomenon that remains insufficiently studied. The art associations that emerged and either developed or quickly faded played an undeniably important role in supporting, presenting, and disseminating the works of painters, graphic artists, and sculptors living and working in Galicia. One of the most influential among them was the Society of  Friends of  Fine Arts, which primarily collaborated with Polish artists but remained open to artists of other nationalities who wished to participate in its exhibitions.

Problem Statement. This research, based on archival materials, focuses on the creative contacts of Ukrainian artists with the Society of Friends of Fine Arts, with particular attention to Olena Kulchytska, whose first solo exhibition took place in the Association’s exhibition halls. The aim of the article is to highlight international professional interactions in the field of art and to analyze the Ukrainian segment of the Society’s exhibitions.

Object and Subject of Research. The object of this study is primarily the exhibition activities of the Society of  Friends of  Fine Arts in Lviv, in particular the correspondence with Olena Kulchytska in this context between 1908 and 1913. The subject of the research is the professional relationship between the artist and the Society.

 Methodology. The research methodology is based on systematization, description, art-historical analysis, and generali-zation.

Results. The article provides a comprehensive overview of Kulchytska’s professional relations with the Society of  Friends of  Fine Arts. The exhibitions where her works were presented are specified, with particular attention paid to the artworks themselves and their evaluations by contemporary critics. The study also identifies directions for further in-depth research of the problem.

Keywords: the Society of  Friends of  Fine Arts, Olena Kulchytska, correspondence, exhibitions, painting, graphics.

Receied 16.10.2025

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