Martha Stewart, American businesswoman of Polish origin, has opened an exhibition of her photographs in Warsaw.
Joanna Najfeld reports
Martha Stewart's grandparents emigrated to the United States at the beginning of the 20th century. The family name was Kostyra. Stewart herself will be 67 in August. In her life she has worked as a model, a stockbroker, she ran a catering company and founded a media company. By some called a 'lifestyle guru', Stewart advises how to run a household, keep the garden, prepare meals and throw parties. She has published in books, magazines and appeared repeatedly on television shows.
Photography is Martha Stewart's hobby that she has after her father, who took pictures of Warsaw, Krakow and Gdansk during his journey to Poland back in 1934. Martha Stewart says she still has those photographs: 'My favorites are of the fields, the workers, the wagons, of the work horses. So, this is the power that, I think, photography has for us - that it captures the presence and illuminates the past for future generations.'
On the display of Martha Stewart's photographs, there are fifteen American landscapes. The cultural attache of the embassy of the United States in Poland, James Wolfe, has said that the pictures nicely capture the beauty of that land: 'These are landscapes from different American states. I think they are very beautiful. I am glad we have such pictures to show our country in Poland.'
The pictures are on sale in three sizes. Aleksander Glowacki of a framing company, says the quality of tha paper and the technology used in producing the pictures assures a long lasting durability: 'Even in a hundred years, these pictures will look like they look now. This is thanks to a patented 'art care' technology, which involves a number of procedures. It's not just about the materials used, but also the fact, that the paper is not in contact with the glass. The glass itself is made in such a way to prevent damage from the light.'
5% of the income from the sale of Martha Stewart's pictures will be donated to her foundation in New York, which which is a center of geriatrics. The exhibition is on display until the 5th of July at a Warsaw shopping mall.