'd argue that most American Polonia sources tend to be utterly unreliable and rubbish
I really cannot say much in general terms about media published and read by American Polonia, because I simply do not seek and do not read local papers in Polish. But I also do not read tabloids, such as "Toronto Sun". There is a bunch of free Polish dailies in Toronto and they are more or less the real estate advertising outlets with very little real content. Few others are either religion oriented - and they have all rights to be such, and there are also some very right-wing ones. The oldest daily, "Związkowiec", has some feeling of neutrality to it, and it seems to serve this part of the Polonia population that has trouble reading in English. Their articles follow more or less the world news plus Polish specific news and stories.
But let's not generalize...
There are several Polish institutions at American Universities and local cultural organizations, which provide access to various archives and produce newsletters, promoting high quality events. And I am not talking about "Pierogi events" or "Polka Festival" in Buffalo or Chicago. Here are just few samples:
indiana.edu/~polishst/ - Polish Studies Center at Indiana University
polishcsi.org - Polish Cultural Society of Indiana
ii.umich.edu/crees/aboutus/regionalprograms/polishstudies - University of Michigan Polish Studies
piasa.org - Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America
thekf.org - The Kościuszko Foundation
usc.edu/dept/polish_music/PMJ/ - Polish Music Journal, 1997-2003
edu/dept/polish_music/ - Polish Music Center (with Polish Music Newsletter)
So the cream of Polonia has access to quality publications in America. For example:
The Polish Music Center is the only non-governmental institution of its kind outside of Poland that does so much to preserve and promote Polish music locally and provide research assistance to scholars and performers worldwide.
Remember, this is California, with its strong ties to Paderewski.
Unfortunately some of the university based institutions are short lived due to lack of finances in support of professors and staff. For example, Brigham Young University, Utah has a Department of German Studies and Slavic Languages, but only the German and Russian Chairs remain; the chair of Polish studies is long gone. Yet, it was once a thriving centre, with Prof. Walter Whipple translating numerous Polish poems, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Whipple
A Cradle Wind
Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer
Toward my cradle flew a Tatra wind,
brushed by eagles' wings and mountain pines
which gape from craggs into the abyss --
it blew and roared above my cradle.
Into my heart poured a lasting fit
of longing for eagles' flight and the
pensiveness of pines swaying in the
mountain tops, engulfed in pure quiet.
-translated by Walter Whipple
And where you may find the best English translation of Tuwim's "Lokomotywa"? No, not in Poland but mission.net/poland/warsaw/literature/poems/locomoti.htm right here (in my humble opinion)
I'd be interested how many of the people who've posted on here have actually seen the painting as well as being familiar enough with Matejko's oevre to compare it with anything.
There were so far six posters here, and none was overly excited about the paintings under discussion. So your question here is quite irrelevant. But I'll take the bait.
1. I have seen neither "Carowie Szujscy wprowadzeni przez hetmana Stanisława Żółkiewskiego na sejm warszawski przed króla Zygmunta III" nor "Carowie Szujscy na Sejmie Warszawskim". But I have seen some other Matejko's paintings in original, and many more in reproductions and albums. It used to be a standard to visit musea on yearly school trips in Poland. Kraków was one of the choices.
2. Matejko was just a growing up phase for me. Then there were Kossaks, Brandt, Chełmonski, Gierymski, Orłowski, Michałowski, Suchodolski. With the same theme of the heroic old Poland. Or with the "Hussar/Uhlan/Chevau-léger and a girl" theme. Their role as historical painters was comparable to the Sienkiewicz's role of a historical novelist, "ku pokrzepieniu serc", to lift the hearts.
But I no longer read Sienkiewicz's novels, I graduated to something else. Impressionism is a form that still touches me, so I occasionally buy some such reproductions. "Rybacy brodzący" (Wading fishermen) by Leon Wyczółkowski, would be something that I would choose over "Carowie Szujscy" any time.
Rybacy brodzący, Wading fishermen