Topolski Studio
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Feliks Topolski RA (1907 - 1989)
Feliks Topolski RA (1907–1989) was a key artist of the 20th century. He became particularly well known in Britain following his role as a war artist for Britain and Poland during World War II.
He covered a vast range of subjects in his work, travelling throughout the world as a visual chronicler. He captured historic figures such as Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Malcolm X, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley and Louis Armstrong, and moments such as Castro's Havana, Apartheid South Africa, and the Vietnam War. Topolski worked with a commitment to 'impartiality', striving to live life not as one of those who made history, but one who recorded it.
A prolific portraitist, illustrator, and painter, he described himself as a "universal everyman," drawing from his rich Polish, Jewish, and British heritage.
His works are now held in major national collections, including Tate Britain, the V&A, and the National Portrait Gallery in the UK, and the National Museum in Warsaw, amongst others.
Feliks Topolski's work on display
H.G. Wells (1943) by Feliks Topolski, National Portrait Gallery
Feliks Topolski Archive
The Feliks Topolski archive contains thousands of drawings, prints, publications, and papers produced across the world, over more than five decades by Feliks Topolski. It constitutes a major record of modern history seen through Topolski's practice of reportage drawing, writing and painting.
We are grateful to currently be cataloguing the collection with the support of an 'Archives Revealed' grant from the National Archives. Portions of the archive are available for access by researchers and students.
Topolski Studio
Topolski's South Bank studio is a working cultural site used for archiving, research, and public programmes. Activities include exhibitions, talks, workshops, and artist-led projects responding to the collection and the legacy of documentary art.
Topolski Studio is part of the Artist's Studio Museum Network.
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Arch 158,
Hungerford Arches, Belvedere Rd,
London SE1 8XU
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Whats on
21600 seconds
Monday 9th November 2026
12:00pm - 19:00pm
Join us for a durational drawing performance by our artist in residence Alice Angus and dance artist Harry Theadora Foster. Unfolding over 6 hours (21600 seconds), Alice will draw Harry repeatedly as he researches the physical language of memory, revisiting his previous solo work Adam, of which Alice was a close collaborator.
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Common Wealth project exhibition & launch
Saturday 14 Nov
14:00 PM - 17:00 PM
Join us for the launch of our new Chronicle edition “Common Wealth”, and to see the large scale mural drawings created in this collaborative project addressing social and environmental change and challenges.
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Life drawing
Wednesdays: 7 - 9pm
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Drawing dance in motion
Sat 31 Oct 2026
Sat 28 Nov 2026
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