Emilia Urbańczykówna – właścicielka atelier „Secesya” w Podgórzu

Nowoczesna kobieta, zapomniana fotografka

Abstract

EMILIA URBAŃCZYKÓWNA - OWNER OF THE “SECESYA” ATELIER IN PODGÓRZE: MODERN WOMAN, FORGOTTEN PHOTOGRAPHER

Emilia Urbańczykówna was the first woman to open her own photographic studio in Krakow, which is of particular importance, as the Krakow female photographers we know of came from families involved in this profession. Born on December 16, 1889 in Krakow, she was artistically gifted and began to learn the craft of photography with a view to practising this profession. It should be noted that at the time, many young women with artistic ability sought employment precisely in photographic studios. Urbańczykówna trained under Józef Kuczyński and Antoni Gürtler, as well as under Klementyna Mien. In 1915 she bought the “Secesyaˮ atelier, located in the garden of the property at 9 Rynek Podgórski, from Bazyli Sławiński, where she began working on September 1 of that year. Her establishment was a popular place for portraits, and first communion and wedding photographs. Urbańczykówna ran “Secesya” until 1939. Later, in a now-defunct house at 45 Lea Street, she opened the “Luna” workshop, and around 1941 she opened a new studio, “Plastyka”. It was located in the city centre, at 11 Zwierzyniecka Street, and operated until around 1948. Emilia Urbańczyk’s professional position in the industry was recognised, as evidenced by her involvement in the management of the Photographers’ Guild of the Krakow Province. At the end of 1930, she passed the Guild’s exam, which entitled her to use the title of master photographer. Urbańczyk was involved in the photographic craft for more than 30 years; she died on September 11, 1949.
In addition to Urbańczykówna’s fate and photographic activities, the article mentions other photographers who ran the “Secesya” workshop: Józef Sebald, Jan Suchecki, Bazyli Sławiński, Antoni Walaszek and his son Stanisław. Numerous photographs preserved in archives and museums, as well as in private collections, have survived from the atelier’s legacy, some of which were not previously associated with specific photographers, nor were they properly dated. This article also attempts to put these issues in order.