The Belina-Brzozowski family came from Podolia — a region now part of Ukraine, Vinnytsia Oblast. Their main seat was Sokołówka, a manor estate known across the region for its art collection, its library, and its Arabian stud farm.

In the 19th century, the family were patrons and companions to some of the most significant figures in Polish culture. Juliusz Słowacki recalled their hospitality in his letters. They raised and supported Zygmunt Feliński — later canonized. They were painted repeatedly by Juliusz Kossak. The Pope granted them a noble title.

They assembled one of the largest private art collections in the eastern territories — paintings, manuscripts, documents connected to the Zamoyski and Bniński families and other noble houses. The collection was lost: first in the revolution, then in the fighting at the Brzozowski Palace on Bracka Street in Warsaw.

What remains is memory, a few photographs, and a name.

I carry it into the darkroom.