Henryk (Henri) Hayden
1883 - 1970

His father, a rich Warsaw merchant, persuaded Henryk Hayden to begin studies at the Warsaw Polytechnic College in 1902. He discontinued this endeavor in 1905, enrolling at the Warsaw School of Fine Arts. Financed by his father, he left for Paris in 1907 to study art for

a year at the Académie La Palette under Georges Desvalliers and Charles Guérin. In 1908 he spent his first summer in Brittany where he visited Władysław Ślewiński and painted at Pont-Aven and Le Pouldu. He returned there many times afterwards. Through Adolf Basler, who took notice of Hayden's debut at the Autumn Salon (1909), the painter met André Salmon, who wrote the introduction to the catalogue of his first one-man show (1911).

At Montparnasse he was often found in the company of people connected with the cubist movement: Jean Metzinger, Gino Severini, Max Jacob and Pablo Picasso, as well as Juan Gris and Jacques Lipchitz with whom he had the strongest ties. Lipchitz introduced Hayden to the well-known art-dealer and supporter of Cubism, Léonce Rosenberg, with whom the painter signed a contract, which ended when Hayden broke with Cubism. He took part in the life of the Polish colony (contributing to exhibitions of the Society of Polish Artists in Paris among other things), and he was on friendly terms with Tadeusz Makowski, Mojżesz Kisling and Simon Mondzain, who dedicated one of his early French landscapes to him. Dismissed from military service, he spent World War I in Montparnasse. Passionately fond of music (an interest that was reflected in his art), he remained in close contact with a group of avant-garde composers known as “Les Six”, which included Darius Milhaud and Hector Poulenc and he co-operated with Erik Satie, illustrating the program of the first performance of Morceaux en forme de poire.

In 1920 he traveled to Poland, meanwhile also discovering the charms of landscapes in southern France, by visiting Cassis and Sanary-sur-Mer. In 1923 he signed a contract with Leopold Zborowski. In 1932 he obtained French citizenship. After the outbreak of World War II, Henryk Hayden was forced to leave Paris. He and his wife, the painter Josette Hayden, initially took refuge in Auvergne (with Robert and Sonia Delaunay), then went to Mougins near Cannes, and, finally saw the end of the war in the district of Vaucluse. It was there, at Roussillon near Apt, that Hayden established a lasting friendship with Samuel Beckett. Following the liberation, he returned to Paris, where he lived - with trips to northern France, where he painted at Honfleur, among other places - until his death.

Hayden's first paintings were greatly influenced by the synthetism of Gauguin and other painters from Pont-Aven. Around 1913, due to the influence of Cézanne, he resolved to give geometric discipline to his forms. This led him, through the inspiration of the art of Juan Gris, Gino Severini, and Picasso, to his own version of Cubism that acquired a synthetic, monumental appearance. Around 1922 he reverted to a figurative style based on closer observation of nature. At that time, he gave up Cubism (except for a brief interlude towards the end of his life) and discovered his own approach to landscapes and still lifes, a style comparable at times to that of Mojżesz Kisling or of Józef Pankiewicz in certain canvases.

Hayden's one-man shows (including posthumous exhibitions after 1970) took place in Paris (1911, 1919, 1923, 1924-1939, 1953, 1968, and then 1975, 1977, 1982, 1986, 1991); in London (1962, 1965, 1973); in Aix-en-Provence (1966); in Bourges (1970); and in Rennes (1979).

The painter often exhibited at the Paris Salons, including the Autumn Salon, even after World War II. He presented at the most important exhibitions of the School of Paris and the Polish colony, in Paris, as well as at exhibitions of French art in Poland.

-- Artur Tanikowski

Works in the collection: