The Library of Congress has published "Visual Arts in Poland: An Annotated Bibliography of Selected Holdings in the Library of Congress" by Janina Hoskins, retired Polish area specialist in the European Division.
A labor of love, the eagerly awaited bibliography is the culmination of Dr. Hoskins's long and distinguished career as a research librarian, bibliographer and acknowledged authority on Polish history and culture.
Handsomely illustrated in color and black-and-white, the clothbound 220-page survey is organized into 11 thematic chapters describing more than 800 major works of Polish architecture, sculpture, painting, prints, decorative arts, folk art, and photography. Also included is a section on noteworthy art collections in Poland. One of the magnificent full-color reproductions in the book is the Czartoryski Collection's crown jewel, "Lady with an Ermine" by Leonardo da Vinci.
The works cited in "Visual Arts in Poland" constitute an important subset of the vast and varied Polish collections of the Library of Congress. Accompanying each entry is a concise annotation that provides salient facts about the publication and the times, lives and creative output of the artists involved. With the exception of Warsaw, all place names are rendered in Polish orthography, complete with diacritics. Most of the titles are in Polish or English, although key works in German, French, and Italian also are included. A table of contents and comprehensive name index facilitate searching.
"Visual Arts in Poland: An Annotated Bibliography of Selected Holdings in the Library of Congress" (Washington: Library of Congress, 1993) is available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402- 9328 for $28 (cite stock number 030-001-00141-5 when ordering). Telephone orders may be placed by calling (202) 783-3238 to charge copies to VISA or MasterCard.