Bułhak, exposed at the National Museum

Jan Bułhak is considered one of the most prominent Polish photographers. His photography often captures interesting architectural structures and landscapes, all in black and white. His work was often exhibited during the 1920s and 1930s in the US, and now his photography has found a temporary home in Poland's National Museum.

Jan Bułhak was born in 1876 in Ostaszyn, then part of Russian Lithuania, and now in Belarus. He lived through a troublesome period, including the two World Wars. By the Second World War, Bułhak had amassed an archive of between 40,000 to 100,000 negatives, most of which were destroyed, along with his apartment, during a fire in the Battle for Poland. Bułhak died in 1950, in Giżycko.

Bułhak is most famous for his pictures of Lithuania, which include stunning panoramas of Vilnius. His photography also took him across towns and cities in Poland, which he snapped during the 1920s. In 1929, Bułhak jointly founded the Zwišzek Polskich Artystów Fotografików (Union of Polish Art Photographers). He was also the author of several books about photographic aesthetics and techniques. His most important contribution to the art world is his notion of 'native photography' - that Polish creativity always possessed national characteristics.

The exhibition runs until February 4 and tickets are priced from zł.10-17. Log on to www.mnw.art.pl  for further information