This watercolour on paper by Rafał Malczewski, Street Mist, c. 1943, measures 15 × 20 inches and is signed lower left.

Rafał Marceli Ludwik Fortunat Józef Malczewski (1892–1965) was born in Kraków, Poland, the son of the renowned Symbolist painter Jacek Malczewski. Growing up in a deeply artistic household, he was exposed to painting from an early age. Although he initially pursued studies in philosophy, architecture, and agronomy at the University of Vienna, Malczewski ultimately turned toward art, later continuing his training at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków and working in his father’s studio.

Before settling in North America, Malczewski travelled widely across Europe, developing a style that blended structured composition with expressive atmosphere. His work often focused on landscapes and architectural settings, rendered with strong forms and simplified shapes. These qualities carried into his later paintings, where natural scenery and built environments are unified through light, colour, and spatial clarity.

Malczewski arrived in Canada in 1942 during the Second World War and soon became associated with efforts to document the Canadian landscape. Supported in part by Canadian railway interests, he travelled and painted scenes across the country, particularly in the western provinces. His paintings from this period combine a European sensibility with distinctly North American subjects, helping introduce Canadian audiences to his unique perspective.

He died in Montreal in 1965. Today his works are held in numerous collections in both Europe and North America, reflecting a career that bridged two artistic worlds.