Maurice APFELBAUM (1887-1931), Seascape

Maurycy APFELBAUM (1887-1931), Seascape
oil, cardboard
55 x 38 cm
signed l.d MApfelbaum

Maurycy Apfelbaum - painter, graphic artist, stage designer; came from an Orthodox Jewish family. As a fifteen-year-old boy, he went to Warsaw and then to Kalisz, where he painted signs and designed patterns for fabrics. Later he found himself in England, where he took up studies at the Liverpool Academy of Art. From 1905 he studied at the Royal Academy of Art in London, receiving scholarships for further studies in Holland and France. He also visited Vienna and Germany. The first exhibition of his works was held in London in 1918. He returned to Poland in 1921, initially living in Warsaw, where he worked as a stage designer for the Jewish Theater, and later (1927) moved to Katowice. Associated with the circle of Jewish artists, he took part in Jewish Art Exhibitions, including in Warsaw, Wloclawek (1923), and Krakow (1930). He belonged to the "Jung Iddysz" association. He was the author of the polychromy of the synagogue in Bedzin, done with the cooperation of Cygler and Hanf (1926; not preserved), he also did frescoes in the synagogue in Lowicz. He painted portraits, genre Jewish scenes and landscapes. In his paintings one can find both realistic tendencies, as well as inspirations from impressionism and the expressionist current.