Stanislaw Paciorek (1889-1952), Pines at dusk, 1940s.

Oil, cardboard; size: 37 x 47 cm; signed p. d.: St. Paciorek

Image from the collection of Dr. Ryszard Rudzinski.Dr. Ryszard Jerzy Rudzinski was born on September 28, 1930 in Vilnius. His father Antoni was a lawyer, his mother Jozefa a teacher in Vilnius schools. Ryszard spent his childhood and early youth in Vilnius and near Shumsk in the Vilna district. After the war, the entire family was forced to leave their homeland. The dozen or so years spent in the Vilna region forever left their mark on Ryszard's identity. He settled with his parents in Cracow. He continued his high school education, becoming involved in the scouting movement. It was then that he discovered a passion for collecting and traveling, as well as a calling to help those in need. The consequence was his graduation from the Jagiellonian University Faculty of Medicine in 1956. He and Anna Barbara (née Koziel), whom he met while studying medicine together, started a family. They lived to see and raised three sons. Dr. Ryszard Rudzinski, while working intensively professionally, found time and developed his passion for collecting more and more deeply (above his desk he had engraved: Nulla dies sine linea). His travels in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, North America were a continuation of his youthful expeditions to the Beskids, Tatra Mountains, or canoeing on Polish rivers and Masurian lakes. Ryszard Rudzinski was deeply involved in the activities of the Katyn Families. One of the victims of this crime was Franciszek Koziel, Anna's father. Dr. Rudzinski was also active in the Siberian Association and in the 1980s was vice president of the Cracow branch of the Club of Catholic Intelligentsia. He belonged to the Knights and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem. He died on May 31, 2021 and is buried in the parish cemetery in Tyniec.