Władysław Skoczylas was a Polish painter, graphic artist, and sculptor, recognized as the founder of the Polish woodcut school. He was born on April 4, 1883, in Wieliczka, into a family associated with the salt mine. He began his artistic education at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, where he studied painting under Teodor Axentowicz and Leon Wyczółkowski, and sculpture in the workshop of Konstanty Laszczka. From 1910 to 1913, he continued his studies in Paris, where he learned sculpture from Antoine Bourdelle and graphic arts and woodcut techniques at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst in Leipzig.
In 1908, he took a teaching position in drawing at the Zakopane School of Wood Industry. In 1922, he became a professor of graphic arts at the Warsaw School of Fine Arts and served as its director from 1929 to 1930. In 1914, he won an award for woodcut at the second Henryk Grohman Competition, and in 1918, he became an associate professor of graphics and drawing at the Faculty of Architecture of the Warsaw University of Technology. His works were published in "Tęcza," and in 1928, he won a bronze medal at the Olympic Arts and Literature Competition in Amsterdam for a series of watercolors.
Skoczylas is known for his distinctive style characterized by the so-called "comb" technique—interlocking black and white patterns that rhythmically structure his compositions. He co-founded the Association of Polish Artists "Rhythm" and the Association of Polish Graphic Artists "Ryt." One of the largest collections of his works is housed in the Museum of the Salt Mines in Wieliczka, where over 400 woodcuts, watercolors, and drawings are preserved.
Władysław Skoczylas passed away on April 8, 1934, in Warsaw and was buried at the Powązki Cemetery.