1930s/before 1974
gelatin silver print, 24 × 17.6 cm,
signed "Dorys" on the front, titled and artist’s stamp dated 1974 on the reverse

Lena or Helena Żelichowska (1910-1958), whom Dorys portrayed here, was a Polish film, revue, and theatre actress of the pre-war period. She performed in the Grand Theatre (1926-1929), and then in Warsaw’s small revue theatres, including Morskie Oko, Wesoły Wieczór, Rex, Hollywood. She acted in the Grand Theatre in 1934, and between 1935 and the outbreak of WWII - in the Letni and Cyrulik Warszawski theatres. She debuted in the cinema in 1933, starring together with Hanka Ordonówna (Ordonka) in The Spy in the Mask. She quickly gained popularity and came to be ranked among the greatest film and theatre stars. This work is one of many proofs of the refined photographic style of the portraitist, who excelled in capturing the facial features of his sitters.