Bulletin du Musée National de Varsovie (40.1999)

In 1962 at the initiative of the Director, the National Museum celebrated its
one hundredth anniversary. It then consisted of nine galleries and independent
scholarly departments.12 The conservation laboratories had been expanded to
include facilities for paintings, sculpture, paper, decorative arts, and ancient
arts, as well as a laboratory for research and technological documentation. The
National Museum and its branches were enjoying their golden years under
Lorentz’s direction. Its collections were enriched during these years with
numerous purchases and gifts, in both ancient and contemporary art as well as
with archaeological excavations supervised by Prof. Michałowski, who sińce
1945 had served as the MuseunTs vice director. Among the accomplishments
of these years was a vast number of both thematic and monographic exhibitions
in various fields of Polish and foreign art; scholarly publications, including the
Bulletin de Musee National de Varsovie, published at the initiative of Prof. Jan
Białostocki beginning in 1960; highly developed international contacts and co-
operation, as well a broad program of educational activities. Ali this was
accomplished thanks to the highly ąualified Staff that Lorentz had attracted, as
he had prior to the war, including such outstanding scholars as Professors
Michałowski and Białostocki, both members of the Polish Academy of Sciences,
as well as Prof. Stefan Kozakiewicz, curator of the Gallery of Polish Art.

Lorentz initiated and organised major exhibitions, beginning with Warsaw
Accuses, which opened on May 1945. The most important exhibitions
included: The Age ot the Enlightenment in Poland (1951); The Renaissance in
Poland (1953); Treasures ot National Culture Recovered from Ottawa (1959);
Art in Warsaw trom the Middle Ages to the 2O'1 Century (1962), mounted for
the 100rh anniversary of the National Museum; Marceli Bacciarelli (1970); The

12 I. The Gallery of Ancient Art: 1. the Department of Egyptian Art; 2. the Department of
Greek Art; and 3. the Department of Roman Art.

II. The Gallery of Polish Art: 1. the Department of Medieval Art; 2. the Department of Polish
Painting; and 3. the Department of Sculpture.

III. The Gallery of Foreign Painting: 1. the Department of Northern Schools; and
2. The Department of Southern Schools.

IV The Gallery of Decorative Art: 1. the Department of Furniture; 2. the Department
of Textiles 3. the Department of Goldwork and Metals; 4. the Department of Porcelain;
5. the Department of Glass; and 6. the Department of Middle and Far Eastern Art.

V The Gallery of Contemporary Art: 1. the Department of Painting; 2. the Department of
Contemporary Graphics; 3. the Department of Sculpture; and 4. the Department of
Decorative Art.

VI. The Collections of Coins and Medals: 1. The Department of Polish and Foreign Coins and
Medals, and 2. the Department of Ancient Coins.

VII. The Collections of Drawings and Engravings: 1. the Polish Department, and 2. the Foreign
Department.

VIII. The Department for Scholarly Documentation.

IX. The Library.

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