Born Poland, 1910. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Cracow and worked extensively in Italy, Paris and Vienna before arriving in Australia in 1950. After working in a concrete factory at Villawood he was brought to Merioola and given studio space to work in. When Merioola was demolished he moved to Chica Lowe's new rooming-house in Elizabeth Bay.

His use of luminous colour and formalist design led to his style being labelled Neo-Byzantine. In 1953 he won the Blake Prize, in 1954 the Perth Prize, the Critics Prize for Contemporary Art in 1955 and the Sulman Prize in 1957. In 1958 he went to the West Coast of America and his works became much more structural. He returned to Australia in 1965 where he continued to exhibit until his death in 1981.