Adolphe Feder (Odessa 1885 - Auschwitz 1943)

Aizik Feder, known as Adolphe Feder, was born in Odessa in 1885, in the Russian Empire. He grew up in a middle-class family. He took part in the Bund Revolution and was forced to leave Russia. In 1904, he left for Berlin, then Geneva, where he studied at the Académie des Beaux-Arts. The painter arrived in Paris in 1908, attending the Académie Julian and then Matisse's studio. He quickly became part of Parisian life, particularly in Montparnasse, where he rubbed shoulders with Othon Friesz, Modigliani and Jacques Lipchitz. As well as practicing art, he collected primitive and naive art (his collection was confiscated during the Second World War). From 1923, he published his drawings in left-wing magazines and illustrated works by Joseph Kessel and Arthur Rimbaud. The artist was very active in the Russian art scene in Paris, notably through the Société des artistes russes, which brought together several artists from La Ruche. Like many other painters of the period, he traveled to the south of France, as well as to Brittany. Feder also visited the Basque country and Algeria. In 1926, he went to Palestine. During the Occupation, he refused to leave Paris. He was arrested in 1942, deported in 1943 and died in Auschwitz. His wife, who managed to escape, took with her an album of drawings Feder had made during their imprisonment in Drancy.

Adolphe Feder was a Ukrainian painter and illustrator of the École de Paris. His style was influenced by Fauvism and the Cézanian lesson. In the 1920s, he adopted the forms of Cubism. The artist mainly painted landscapes, still lifes, portraits and scenes of rural and urban life. He depicted the world of workers, but also traditional life. His palette is marked by shimmering colors. He also produced watercolors during his imprisonment at Drancy.

Feder participates in several Parisian salons: Salon d'Automne (1911-1913, 1919-1923, 1925, 1937), Salon des Indépendants (1913, 1914, 1921,1923), Salon des Tuileries (1926). In 1928, he also exhibited at Galerie Marcel Bernheim (Paris), Galerie Druet (Paris) and in Moscow (1928). Some of his works are held in museums around the world, notably in France (Musée National d'Art Moderne), Israel, Switzerland and Russia.