Mendel Gorshman [1902-1972] - Portrait of his friend Meir Axelrod - pencil on paper, signed, depicted, and dated, 1937.
About the painter Mendel Gorshman, see item 189.
Meir Moyszewicz Axelrod [1902-1970], Soviet Jewish painter. In 1921, the first exhibition of his paintings was organized in Minsk. In 1932 he joined the Moscow Painters' Association. Between 1930 and 1931, he and his friend Mendel Gorshman visited Vio Nova twice, a kibbutz that was established in the Crimea by Jews who came down from Eretz Israel (see previous item), following which he created a number of works. An exhibition of Axelrod's paintings dedicated to Vio Nova, entitled "The Lost Paradise", was displayed at the Ein Harod Museum. In the 1930s, Axelrod designed books and worked in theaters, including the Jewish Theater of Belarus and the Jewish Theater of Moscow. During World War II he lived with his family in Almaty, where he assisted Jewish refugees from Poland. In 1944 in Almaty there was a personal exhibition of his paintings. Died in 1970 in Moscow.
Provenance: Mendel Gorshman's estate, purchased from his son.
Size: 44x32 cm. Stain on the top of the painting on the right. Good condition.
