Self-taught artist, oil on board or canvas, born in Grudziądz, Poland. Marek lived in England from 1948, latterly in Edinburgh, as Jerzy Murray. Began to paint in 1970, mainly at night, after work as a civil engineer who designed bridges. After early retirement in 1981 he devoted all his time to painting. Living for a time in Preston he spent much time encouraging self-taught artists in the northwest; they became known as The Marek Circle and they included his mother-in-law, Margaret Baird. Marek worked slowly on a small scale, deriving most of his ideas from tiny doodles. After sporting and pastoral scenes lush Victorian interiors followed, all showing a characteristic velvety technique, then close-ups of animals and people. He favoured “weird and enigmatic expressions on faces of animals rather than pleasing ones”.