Leonard Pietraszak. Actor, Collector, Bydgoszczanin

In 2021, Wanda and Leonard Pietraszak donated to the Leon Wyczółkowski District Museum a unique collection of paintings by Jan Stanisławski and his students, which is displayed in the Main Building of the MOB at ul. Gdańska 4. The exhibition Leonard Pietraszak. Actor, Collector, Bydgoszczanin, a natural complement to this splendid display of Young Poland painting, was created as part of the celebrations of the 2026 Year of Leonard Pietraszak taking place in our city.

The exhibition space, arranged as the Pietraszak couple's living room with a fireplace, presents artworks and memorabilia of Leonard Pietraszak. These objects document successive periods of the actor's professional and personal life, as well as the range of his passions and interests, above all his art collecting. Among the valuable artifacts are numerous archival materials and photographs showing Pietraszak's youth spent in Bydgoszcz, his theatre and film work, and his private life shared with his beloved wife Wanda and friends. An interesting group of objects consists of awards and decorations received by the famous actor in recognition of his artistic work. The exhibition also includes items with which the Pietraszak couple surrounded themselves in everyday life. Of particular note is an oil portrait of Leonard Pietraszak in the costume of Colonel Krzysztof Dowgird from Czarne chmury, painted by Jan Szancenbach (1997), along with other works gathered over the years by the actor-collector.

Leonard Pietraszak was born on 6 November 1936 in Bydgoszcz, the third child of Aleksander and Janina née Dmowska. He spent his youth in his hometown. He lived in a tenement house at ul. Gdańska 95, and later at ul. Grudziądzka 38. In Bydgoszcz he completed the Fifth State Secondary and Primary School, today the III Secondary School named after Adam Mickiewicz, and then went on to study at the Acting Department of the Leon Schiller State Higher School of Film, Television and Theatre in Łódź.

In the early 1960s, Pietraszak performed in Poznań theatres, and from 1965 he became associated with the Warsaw stage. He was an actor at the capital's Teatr Klasyczny and Teatr Komedii, and from 1977 to 2008 at the Teatr Ateneum named after Stefan Jaracz. He performed on the stage of the latter venue continuously until 2011. At the same time he developed his career in film and television. His roles in television series such as Czarne chmury (1973), Czterdziestolatek (1974–1977), Rodzina Połanieckich (1978), Kariera Nikodema Dyzmy (1980), Królowa Bona (1980) and Siedlisko (1998), in films including Wielki układ (1976), Vabank (1981) and Vabank II, czyli riposta (1984), Danton (1982), Kingsajz (1987), Trójkąt bermudzki (1987), Złoto dezerterów (1998) and Listy do M (2011), and in numerous Teatr Telewizji productions brought the actor enormous popularity.

Pietraszak and his wife Wanda collected works of art, mainly paintings from the Polish landscape school and works by contemporary artists, above all their friends Tadeusz Kulisiewicz and Jan Szancenbach.

For outstanding achievements in the field of Polish culture, the artist was awarded the Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, the Gold Medal "Merited to Culture Gloria Artis" and the badge "Merited Activist of Culture".

Since 2018 he has been an Honorary Citizen of Bydgoszcz. A handprint of the famous actor can be found in the Promenade of Stars in Międzyzdroje, and a plaque bearing his autograph is in the Bydgoszcz Alley of Autographs. In addition, a tram named after Leonard Pietraszak runs through the city on the Brda river.

The actor died on 1 February 2023 in Michałów-Grabina and was buried in the Old Cemetery in Bydgoszcz.

The District Museum extends its warm thanks to Mrs Wanda Majer-Pietraszak and Mr Tomasz Pietraszak for making available mementos of the outstanding actor and Bydgoszczanin.

dr Anna Nadolska, dr Monika Kosteczko-Grajek

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• opening of the exhibition: 5 November 2026
• curators of the exhibition: dr Anna Nadolska, dr Monika…