Born: March 23, 1917, in Sosnowiec, Poland
Died: 1973
Bogdan Marian Zieleniec was a Polish illustrator, graphic artist, and painter.
He graduated high school in 1935/36 from the 4th Secondary School named after Stanisław Staszic in Sosnowiec. He began his artistic studies in 1938 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków and continued after World War II at the Faculty of Painting and Graphic Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw from 1945 to 1949. He studied under Felicjan Szczęsny Kowarski and received his diploma in 1950. That same year, he became an art editor at the publishing house Nasza Księgarnia.
In 1965, Zieleniec moved to Cuba for three years, where he helped co-found the Higher School of Design in Havanaand served as a lecturer there. His time on the island resulted in two books which he both wrote and illustrated:
Wonders and Curiosities of Cuba (1972)
In Cuba, Even the Stones Bloom (1972)
His artistic output included graphic arts (particularly woodcuts and linocuts), drawing, and painting (oil, watercolor, and tempera). He illustrated over 100 publications, many of which were released both in Poland and internationally.
Art critic Ignacy Witz once described him as a “sensitive illustrator of nature who favors landscape-themed works.”
He received numerous awards during his career. In 1959, he represented Poland at the International Book Fair in Leipzig (3rd IBA), where he was awarded a bronze medal. In 1971, his works were featured in the World Hunting Exhibition at the Műcsarnok in Budapest.
A lesser-known but passionate aspect of his legacy—revealed posthumously—was his deep fascination with the natural world, which he expressed through detailed, realistic drawings. These works later illustrated such books as:
Coral Reefs (1978), written by Jan Grzegorz
Frog-Critter Tales (Żaborybogady, 1977), written by Henryk Garbarczyk
Zieleniec’s style is marked by a profound emotional connection to nature, evident across his diverse body of landscape-themed works. His black-and-white drawings, rendered with an exceptionally sensitive line, powerfully convey the mood and atmosphere of natural scenes. These illustrations can be viewed as a modern continuation of the Polish landscape painting tradition, characterized by a lyrical and poetic sensibility.
Children of Nyhavn by Karin Michaelis
In Kasia’s Little Garden by Jadwiga Korczakowska
About Little Wanderer Janek by Maria Konopnicka
What the Sun Saw by Maria Konopnicka
A Tale of a Boy, a Puppy, and a Lion Cub by Jadwiga Chamiec
The Gray Neck by Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak
Show Us You Can Read by Yourself (anthology)
First Reader (Prvá čítanka) by Juraj Brt’ka and Marian Falski
Songbook for Grade 4 by Franciszek Jasionowski and others
The Herring’s Ear by Hanna Ożogowska
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs
Anne of Green Gables: Our Friend Anne (Anne på Grönkulla) by Lucy Maud Montgomery
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
