John Radecki

John Radecki (also known as Jan Radecki) (1865 - 1955) was a master stained glass artist working in Australia, considered to be the finest such artist of his time.

Biography

Radecki was born on August 2, 1865 at Łódź, Poland to Pavel Radecki and his wife, Victoria. He attended art school in Poznań as a teenager, before emigrating with his family to Australia in January 1882, where they resided in the town of Wollongong, New South Wales. A year later, he moved to Sydney where he received further art training. He became a naturalized Australian citizen in November, 1904.

Beginning in 1885, Radecki worked for Frederick Ashwin, a leading stained glass designer who had immigrated from Great Britain. Ashwin built upon Radecki's art education and taught him the craft of working with glass, including the specialized techniques of painting it. Ashwin and Radecki thereafter collaborated on a number of window projects until Ashwin's death in 1909. Radecki then became the chief designer for the studio, now known as J. Ashwin & Co., partnering with Fred's brother, John. When John died in 1920, Radecki became proprietor of the studio, which grew to be the largest and most prestigious glass studio in Sydney.

Radecki's works didn't just include churches and religious themes. In the mid-1920s, he and the Ashwin studio produced a set of windows for the vaulted ceiling of the Commonwealth Savings Bank, Martin Place, Sydney. These windows, which survive to this date, celebrate the sources of commerce in Australia. For the Mitchell Library in Sydney, Radecki designed a window honoring William Caxton and the first book printed in English.

Besides the actual glass work, Radecki was a talented sketch artist and water color painter, techniques which he would use in developing the window designs. Radecki's enduring works were a result of his exceptional ability at drawing and sense of color, combined with an unparalleled understanding of the use of the medium itself.

Radecki died at home on May 10, 1955 at the age of 90. The studio continued to be operated by his daughter, Winifred Siedlecky until her death. The building was demolished in 1961, but the studio was moved and it is still in business under different owners.

Notable works

*"Sermon on the Mount", St. Paul's Church, Cobbitty (1890s, with F. Ashwin)
*"Nativity", St. Jude's Church, Randwick (1890s, with F. Ashwin)
*Yanco Agricultural High School, (1902, design by Radecki, production by F. Ashwin; it was then known as the Yanco Agricultural College)
*Chancel window, St. Clement's church, Mosman (1903, with F. Ashwin)
*"Te Deum", Christ Church, St. Laurence, Sydney (1906, Radecki's first major independent work)
*St. John the Evangelist Church, Campbelltown (both with F. Ashwin and independently)
*Commonwealth Savings Bank, Martin Place, Sydney (mid-1920s; windows in the vaulted ceiling)
*St. Declan's Catholic Church, Penshurst (1928; includes a window dedicated to Radecki's wife who died in 1919)
*St. Scholastica's Convent, Glebe (early 1930s)
*St Mary's Catholic Church, Mudgee (Two windows, southwest corner)
*St. Patrick's, Kogarah
*St. Joseph's, Rockdale
*St. Matthew's, Manly
*Our Lady of Dolours', North Goulburn
*Presbyterian Church, Wollongong
*Mitchell Library, Sydney (1941 depicting William Caxton)

References

* [http://mudgee.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?story_id=386484&y=2005&m=4&class=News&subclass=Local&category=General+News&class_id=7 Diane Simmonds, "Stained glass windows tell stories", "Mudgee Guardian", April 15, 2005]
* [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/AS10406b.htm Australian Dictionary of Biography, Online Edition]
* [http://www.uq.edu.au/journ-comm/docs/pastissues/number36.pdf#search=%22john%20Radecki%20australia%22 Information on the Mitchell Library window]
* [http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/media/1999/windows.cfm Mitchell Library press release celebrating the windows]
*J. Zimmer, "Stained Glass in Australia" (1984)
*B. E. Meagher, "An Outline History of St. Declan’s Parish Penshurst, N.S.W." (1985)
*B. Sherry, "Australia’s Historic Stained Glass" (1991)
*J. Foster and J. Shailer, "The Treasure of St Scholastica’s" (2002)