Joseph Stanley Kozlowski (1912–1992), American portrait and watercolor artist, was born in Frankfort, New York

Frankfort (town), New York

Frankfort is a town in Herkimer County, New York, United States. The population was 7,478 at the 2000 census. The town is named after one of its earliest settlers, Lawrence Frank. The town of Frankfort includes a village also called Frankfort. The town is east of Utica...

. The family later owned a farm in Clinton, New York

Clinton, New York

Clinton is the name of several places in New York State:*Clinton, Clinton County, New York*Clinton, Dutchess County, New York*Clinton, Oneida County, New York*Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, also known as "Clinton"...

and Kozlowski attended Clinton High School. He graduated from Syracuse University

Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...

 in 1936 with a BFA degree

Bachelor of Fine Arts

In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...

. In 1938 he was appointed chief artist and photographer with the Poole-Crockett archaeological expedition to study the Mayan

Maya civilization

The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...

 ruins in the Yucatán Peninsula

Yucatán Peninsula

The Yucatán Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico, separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico, with the northern coastline on the Yucatán Channel...

 undertaken by Syracuse University. He returned to Yucatán in 1940 for a period of 8 months, using his paintings as barter for food and accommodations.

Following the outbreak of the Second World War

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Kozlowski joined the Merchant Marine

United States Merchant Marine

The United States Merchant Marine refers to the fleet of U.S. civilian-owned merchant vessels, operated by either the government or the private sector, that engage in commerce or transportation of goods and services in and out of the navigable waters of the United States. The Merchant Marine is...

 and served as an able-bodied seaman

Able Seaman (occupation)

An able seaman is an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination of these roles.-Watchstander:...

 (AB) shipping war material from New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

 and Corpus Christi, Texas

Corpus Christi, Texas

Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...

 through the Panama Canal

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...

 to Honolulu, Hawaii

Honolulu, Hawaii

Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...

 and, as he was fond of saying, "boat loads of post holes" on the return trip. Between ships he worked as a civilian photographer with the Army Air Corps

United States Army Air Corps

The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...

 at both Hickam Field

Hickam Air Force Base

Hickam Field, re-named Hickam Air Force Base in 1948, was a United States Air Force facility now part of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, named in honor of aviation pioneer Lt Col Horace Meek Hickam.- History :...

, as it was called during the war, in Hawaii and at the Rome Air Depot in Rome, New York

Rome, New York

Rome is a city in Oneida County, New York, United States. It is located in north-central or "upstate" New York. The population was 44,797 at the 2010 census. It is in New York's 24th congressional district. In 1758, British forces began construction of Fort Stanwix at this strategic location, but...

, currently called Griffiss Air Force Base

Griffiss Air Force Base

Griffiss Air Force Base, is a former United States Air Force base, located in Rome, New York, about NW of Utica. Missions at Griffiss AFB included fighter interceptors, electronic research, installation, and support activities, aerial refueling, and bombers...

.

From 1946 to 1949 he was a photography and art instructor at the Veterans Administration Hospital

United States Department of Veterans Affairs

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is the United States government’s second largest department, after the United States Department of Defense...

 and rehabilitation facility in Bath, New York

Bath (village), New York

Bath is a village in Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 5,641 at the 2000 census. Bath is the county seat of Steuben County. The community was named either for the English city or for Lady Bath, daughter of William Pulteney, one of the original landowners.The Village of...

.

Settling in the East Syracuse, New York

East Syracuse, New York

East Syracuse is an incorporated village and a suburb of the City of Syracuse in eastern Onondaga County, New York. United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the village had a population of 3,178....

 area in 1950, he was frequently commissioned by various organizations affiliated with Syracuse University

Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...

 and the State University of New York

State University of New York

The State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY , is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 465,000 students, plus...

 to paint portraits of notable members of the teaching staff for their institutional collections. He also worked as a technical illustrator for the Prosperity Company and later freelancing in that capacity. He eventually obtained teaching credentials and taught art in the East Syracuse-Minoa Central School District until he retired in the late 1970s.

Commissioned portraits were most often signed "J.S. Kozlowski", generally in bold block letters. Other works, regardless of medium were rarely signed or dated.

Known paintings

These lists are incomplete. Any additions or information regarding these or other paintings by the artist would be appreciated.

Portraits

• Self Portrait, (1940) (Private collection)
• Dr. W.M. Smallwood, (1940) Syracuse University, College of Liberal Arts
• Portrait of Mary, (1940) (Private collection)
• Captain Stillwell - U.S. Merchant Marine (1945) (Private collection)
• Dean H. G. Weiscotten, Syracuse University Medical School (1946)
• Professor Emeritus Edward C. Reifenstein Sr, (1946) Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York.
• Dean William L. Bray
  William L. Bray
  William L. Bray, Ph.D. University of Chicago, botanist, plant ecologist, biogeographer and Professor of Botany at Syracuse University, was the first dean of the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University, from 1911-12....
  
  , SUNY College of Forestry (1953)
• Professor W.J. Davidson, Syracuse University, Athletic Department
• Doctor Knowlton, Syracuse University, College of Medicine
• Joe Kozlowski, Jr. in high school cap and gown, (1963) (Private collection)
• Joe Kozlowski, Jr., (1964) (Private collection)
• Professor Emeritus Gordon D. Hoople, (1964) Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York.
• Professor Carlyle Ferdinand Jacobsen, Ph. D. (1967)
• T. Aaron Levy, Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts (later to become the Everson Museum of Art), Syracuse, New York
• Dan A. Richert Ph. D., (1973), Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York.
• Dorothy Ward, East Syracuse Schools (later East Syracuse-Minoa Central School District); (private collection)
• Lt. Col. Peter Voninski (USAF), (private collection)
• Dr. George Heitzman; (private collection)
• Dr. Justice Meuller, Syracuse University Medical School

• Elizabeth Blackwell, Syracuse University Upstate Medical Center. The Elizabeth Blackwell painting was used as source material for a USPS $.18 postage stamp. However, credit was not extended by the USPS for some time after the issuance of the stamp. After a full investigation determined that Kozlowski's painting was, in fact, the original source for the stamp design the USPS tightened its rules regarding the documentation of source materials in order for design acceptance and acknowledged the role of the painting in the design process.

Landscape and still life

• Characters in a Bar-room; Oil on canvas (1936) (Private collection / Australia)
• Night Skyline, Chicago; Oil on masonite, (~1938-39) (Private collection)

• Tulum; Oil on canvas, (1940) (Private collection)
• Temple of the Dwarf, Uxmal; Oil on canvas, (1940) (Private collection)
• Cohoctan Valley; Watercolor (~1948) (Private collection)
• Farmers Bounty; Oil on canvas (1949) (Private collection)
• Erie Canal Aqueduct; Watercolor, (196x) (Private collection)
• A series of three watercolors with basically the same composition, decanter and background. They were given as gifts to Kozlowski's son and two of his son's friends in 1981:
  • Still Life with Red Onions; Watercolor (196x-1970x) (Private collection)
  • Still life with Oranges; Watercolor (196x-1970x) (Private collection)
  • Still life with Lemons; Watercolor (196x-1970x) (Private collection)
• Wine and Apples; Oil on paperboard (1972) (Private collection)
• Red Peppers; Watercolor (1979) (Private collection)

External links

• Historical Collections of the Upstate Medical University Health Services Library listing five of Kozlowski's paintings in their possession with color photographs - including the portrait of Elizabeth Blackwell.