David Bekker Polish (1897 - 1955) familial scene, 1938 oil on canvas Signed and dated lower right. Craquelure on the middle and right side. Provenance: Hindman Auctions, Chicago Biography from the Archives of askART: David Bekker was born in Vilna, Poland. He studied at the Antokolsky Art School in Russia; the Bezalel Art Academy in Jerusalem, Palestine; and the Academy of Fine Arts in Denver. His teachers in Bezalel were Boris Schatz and Abel Pann. During the Depression, Bekker was a WPA artist who created images of human suffering and painted murals in Illinois public buildings. In 1932, he published a portfolio of woodcuts, Myths and Moods. His works are included in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., and the Tel Aviv Museum. In the book Art of Today: by J.Z. Jacobson, Bekker reveals his identity and his inspiration: "As a descendant of the persecuted Jewish people, branded with a yellow badge of humiliation and rendered impervious to the onslaughts of an antagonistic world by a soul, which has never surrendered, I feel impelled to give form in my work to pathos, sorrow, strife and triumphant joy." Source: www.oakton.edu Information submitted by the artist's son, Alex Bekker 35 3/4"H x 29 1/2"W(sight), 40 1/2"H x 34 1/4"W(frame)