Adolf Behrman

Not to be confused withAdolf Berman.

Adolf Behrman
Born	Abraham Adolf Behrman 1876 Tukkum,Russian Empire
Died	August 1943 Białystok Ghetto,occupied Poland
Nationality	Polish
Education	Jakub Kacenbogen's Drawing School Academy of Fine Arts Munich Academy of Fine Arts,Paris
Known for	Painting
Movement	Post-impressionist

Abraham Adolf Behrman(/ˈbɛərmən/;also spelledBermann;July 13, 1876 – August 1943) was a painter ofinterwar Polandbest known for his outdoor paintings of Jewishshtetllife as well as landscapes and group portraits.He spent most of his life inŁódźand was murdered during the liquidation of theBiałystok Ghettointhe Holocaust.

Biography

Behrman's place of birth is uncertain. He was born either in the town ofTukkumnearMitawa,or inRiga(sources vary), the son of Róża and Markus Behrman, who arrived in Łódź sometime before the end of the century.Adolf studied art under Jakub Kacenbogen at his private Drawing School in Łódź before the 1900s. He continued his studies inMunichin 1900–1904, first privately, then at theAcademy of Fine Arts, MunichunderGabriel von Hackl.His paintings inspired the art critic Zygmunt Bomberg-Batowski to write: "Their diverse themes, the depiction – those are always picturesque. This modest artist always thoroughly and lovingly considers any issues brought by a particular theme, in order to best solve the problem of their presentation."

Adolf Behrman,Talmudreaders

A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, Behrman's first commercial success was the selling of a series of paintings and drawings to an arts' collector in Łódź in 1905 which enabled him to travel toParis.He lived there, studied atthe Academyand worked for the next five years.From 1924 to 1927, Behrman traveled to Palestine, Egypt and later Morocco. His landscapes originating from that period have become the most known part of his work. Behrman's palette became brighter in that period with the introduction of impressionist tones. In the 1930s, he returned to Poland and went toKazimierz Dolnyfor the first time. There, he created one of his most important works,Interior of the Synagogue in Kazimierz Dolny.

Adolf Behrman,The Jewish Bride(1914)

Behrman was a painter of scenes from daily life of the Polish Jews and views of Jewish quarters. His 1914 paintingThe Jewish Bridewas used for the cover of the bookThe Stories Our Parents Found Too Painful to Tell,originally a memoir written in Yiddish titledThe Annihilation of Bialystok Jewry,by Rafael Rajzner and Henry R. Lew.

His last major exhibit took place in 1935 in Łódź. After the Nazi German and Sovietinvasion of Poland,Behrman escaped toBiałystokin the Russian zone of occupation. He was murdered in 1943 by the Nazis in theBiałystok Ghettoaround the time of the perilousBiałystok Ghetto Uprising.Many of Behrman's paintings were destroyed in World War II.Some of his paintings can be found at theHistorical Museum of Krakówand at the Łódź Museum.

References

• Dr. Waldemar Odorowski (author and editor),In Kazimierz the Vistula River spoke to them in Yiddish...: Jewish painters in the art colony of Kazimierz Dolny,published by Muzeum Nadwislanskie,Kazimierz Dolny,Poland 2008
• Official siteof artist and Jewish-lifechroniclerChaim Goldberg
• Artfact, Auction house listing
• Findartinfo, Art auction result for Adolf Abraham Behrmann
• Artnet, Abraham Behrmann: Past Auction Results
• Behrman's works in Central Jewish Library