French-Russian, 1887-1985

BIOGRAPHY:

Marc Chagall was born on July 7, 1887, in Vitebsk, Russia. From 1907 to 1910 he studied in Saint Petersburg, at the Imperial Society for the Protection of the Arts, and later with Léon Bakst. In 1910 he moved to Paris, where he associated with Guillaume Apollinaire and Robert Delaunay and encountered Fauvism and Cubism. He participated in the Salon des Indépendants and the Salon d’Automne in 1912. His first solo show was held in 1914 at Der Sturm gallery in Berlin.

Chagall visited Russia in 1914 and was prevented from returning to Paris by the outbreak of war. He settled in Vitebsk, where he was appointed Commissar for Art in 1918. He founded the Vitebsk Popular Art School and directed it until disagreements with the Suprematists resulted in his resignation in 1920. He moved to Moscow and executed his first stage designs for the State Jewish Chamber Theater there. After a sojourn in Berlin, Chagall returned to Paris in 1923 and met Ambroise Vollard. His first retrospective took place in 1924 at the Galerie Barbazanges-Hodebert, Paris. During the 1930s he traveled to Palestine, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, and Italy. In 1933 the Kunsthalle Basel held a major retrospective of his work.

During World War II Chagall fled to the United States. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, gave him a retrospective in 1946. He settled permanently in France in 1948 and exhibited in Paris, Amsterdam, and London. In 1951 he visited Israel and executed his first sculptures. The following year the artist traveled in Greece and Italy. During the 1960s Chagall continued to travel widely, often in association with large-scale commissions he received. Among these were windows for the synagogue of the Hadassah University Medical Center, Jerusalem (installed in 1962); a ceiling for the Paris Opéra (installed in 1964); a window for the United Nations building, New York (installed in 1964); murals for the Metropolitan Opera House, New York (installed in 1967); and windows for the cathedral in Metz, France (installed in 1968). An exhibition of the artist’s work from 1967 to 1977 was held at the Musée du Louvre, Paris, in 1977–78, and a major retrospective was held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1985. Chagall died on March 28, 1985, in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France.

EDUCATION:
1907-1910, Studied in Saint Petersburg at the Imperial Society for the Protection of the Arts, and later with Léon Bakst.
1910, He apprenticed in Paris with Guillaume Apollinaire and Robert Delaunay.

EXHIBITIONS:
2013, Chagall: entre guerre et paix, Musee National du Luxembourg, Paris (solo)
2012, Marc Chagall, Nassau County Museum of Art, NY (solo)
2008, Marc Chagall, MAN - Museo d'Arte di Nuoro, Nuoro
2007, Marc Chagall: The Bible Series, Louisiana Art & Science Museum, Baton Rouge, LA
2006, Marc Chagall, Tale Art Museum, Lillestrom
1985, Marc Chagall: Retrospectives; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia; Royal Academy, London
1983, Oeuvres sur papier exhibition: National Museum of Modern Art, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
1982, Marc Chagall: Retrospectives; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Louisianer Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark
1977–1978, Marc Chagall: The artist’s work from 1967 to 1977; Musée du Louvre, Paris
1974, Marc Chagall: Retrospective of engraved works (prints); National Gallery, East Berlin and Dresden
1970, Hommage a Marc Chagall; Musee du Grand-Palais, Paris
1967, Marc Chagall: Retrospectives; Zurich, Cologne and the Maeght Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence
1963, Marc Chagall: Retrospective; National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo
1959, Marc Chagall: Retrospective; Museum of Decorative Arts, Palais du Louvre, Paris
1951, Marc Chagall: Retrospective; Jerusalem
1947, Marc Chagall: Retrospective; Musee National d'Art Moderne, Paris
1946, Marc Chagall: Retrospective; Museum of Modern Art, New York
1942, Artists in Exile; New York
1938, Marc Chagall: Retrospective; Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels
1933, Marc Chagall: Retrospective; Kunsthalle Basel, Basel
1926, Marc Chagall: Solo Exhibition; Reinhardt Gallery, New York
1924, Marc Chagall: Retrospective; Galerie Barbazanges-Hodebert, Paris
1913, Marc Chagall: Solo Exhibition; Der Sturm Gallery, Berlin
1912, Participated in the Salon des Indépendants and the Salon d’Automne; Paris, France