Wladyslaw Strzeminski (1893–1952) is ranked among leading avant-garde artists. After he had graduated from St. Petersburg’s Military College of Engineering, he fought in World War I and eventually lost his left arm, right leg and suffered an eye injury. When in hospital, he met Katarzyna Kobro, his future wife and an outstanding sculptress, and under her influence he took an interest in art. However, he never completed any course in the visual arts, with the exception of a brief spell in a newly-opened school in Moscow, where he attended classes. In Moscow, he got to know representatives of the radical Russian avant-garde, with whom he was in touch in subsequent years and whose work he introduced to the Polish art community. In a short time, he proved himself to be an important artist and, as such, participated in several exhibitions.