Wojciech Brzega, a Goral raised by a single mother, spent his childhood in difficult material conditions. He was a modest, hard-working, righteous man and an extraordinarily gifted artist. He graduated from the Zakopane School of Wood Industry in 1889. He continued his education in woodcarving and sculpting workshops in Bielsko-Biała, Cieszyn, Kraków, and Lviv. He studied sculpture at the Kraków School of the Arts thanks to the support of Kazimierz Tetmajer, among others. The artistic character of Wojciech Brzega was significantly influenced by Stanisław Witkiewicz (senior), with whom he worked closely many times; for example, they worked together on the altar of Our Lady of the Rosary in a new church in Zakopane (1896) and the villas designed by Witkiewicz, where he contributed his ornaments and furniture (including the Koliba Villa and the Pod Jedlami house). Brzega devoted much of his life and talent to developing the Zakopane style. The simple, functional furniture decorated with Goral motifs that he made in his own workshop earned the praise of his contemporaries and won awards in competitions and at exhibitions. In 1922–37, Brzega taught sculpture at the School of Wood Industry (replacing Karol Stryjeński as the school’s principal from 1926 to 1929). He actively participated in the artistic and social life of Zakopane as a member of, among other organisations, the Podhale Art Society, the Goral Association, the Kilim Society, the Tatra Society, and the Tatra Museum Society. He also engaged in literary work, writing short stories, Goral tales, stage paintings, and memoirs.