Inger Borchsenius is one of those figures who appear only at the margins of Gdynia’s history, yet perfectly embody the character of the city in the 1930s: young, ambitious, and open to newcomers and people of different cultures. Born in Denmark in 1909, she spent part of her childhood and youth in Grudziądz, where, from 1922, she studied at Wacław Szczeblewski’s Pomeranian School of Fine Arts. When the school was moved to Gdynia in 1933, Borchsenius followed and quickly found her place within the local artistic community. She was regarded as one of Szczeblewski’s most talented students. She specialised in portraiture, working in a realistic manner, yet with a sense of ease and without stiffness, and showing a remarkable ability to capture the likeness of her sitters. In Gdynia, she achieved particular success as the author of formal portraits painted on commission. Her subjects included members of the city’s emerging elite: sea captains and their wives, directors, civil servants and representatives of the local authorities. Her paintings therefore preserved not only the appearance of specific individuals, but also the aspirations of modern Gdynia, a city rapidly constructing its own prestige and identity. Borchsenius is mentioned by Grzegorz Piątek in his book *Gdynia Obiecana*, where he describes her as a Danish portraitist associated with the Pomeranian School of Fine Arts and the city’s social circles. Her presence fits naturally into the story of Gdynia as a cosmopolitan city in which Polish officials, Scandinavian engineers, sailors and newcomers from different parts of Europe met and worked side by side. In 1938, she held a solo exhibition attended, among others, by Government Commissioner Franciszek Sokół and representatives of the Copenhagen authorities. A year later, she returned to Denmark, where she continued her studies and further developed her career as a portrait painter. Several of her works are preserved in the collection of the Gdynia City Museum, including a self-portrait and the pastel *Feast*, a vivid trace of the school’s artistic milieu and the carefree atmosphere of the pre-war city.