Roman Kwasniewski was a Milwaukee photographer who for more than 40 years captured the life and culture of Milwaukee's Polish South Side. The Kwasniewski Photographic Collection consists of more than 25,000 glass plate negatives, 5,000 prints and 13 movie reels taken in the first half of this century.

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee acquired the collection through the assistance of Polanki, Roman Kwasniewski's daughter Adele, and her husband John Kaczmarowski. The enthusiastic support of state Representative Walter Kunicki and the late Senator John Plewa secured funding for processing the collection.