Ida Chagall (1916 – 1994), also known as Ida Meyer, was the daughter of the renowned Russian-French artist Marc Chagall.

Early life

Ida was born on May 18, 1916, in

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Viciebsk (russian: Витебск, ; be, Ві́цебск, ; , ''Vitebsk'', lt, Vitebskas, pl, Witebsk), is a city in Belarus. The capital of the Vitebsk Region, it has 366,299 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest c ...

, Russia, the only child of painter, Marc Chagall. Her mother,

Bella Rosenfeld Bella Rosenfeld Chagall (russian: link=no, Бэлла Розенфельд-Шагал, 15 November 1895, Vitebsk – 2 September 1944, New York State) was a Jewish Belarusian writer and the first wife of painter Marc Chagall. She was the subject ...

(1895-1944), was a Yiddish writer and a source of inspiration for her husband. The Russian Revolution had a profound impact on the entire family, including Ida.

Paris years

In 1923, the Chagall family moved to Paris where Ida continued her education among some of the most influential artists of her time. In 1935, Ida Chagall married Michel Gordey, a talented musician.

Nazi era

During the

Nazi occupation of France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Ida Chagall and her husband Michel joined the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

. After her father had managed to flee the Nazis in 1942 with the assistance of the American, Ida, who had been unable to obtain a visa, saved her father's paintings by smuggling them out of Europe. Ida's mother Bella died suddenly in 1944 in New York.

Family

She and her second husband, Franz Meyer, had twin girls, Bella and Meret. Meyer was a former museum director of the Kunstmuseum in Basel, in Switzerland.

Post-war period and legacy

After the war, Ida Chagall organized exhibitions, wrote extensively about his art and played a crucial role in the founding of the Chagall Museum in Nice, France. Ida promoted her father's art and she ensured that many of his paintings were preserved during the turmoil of World War II. Her daughters are also immersed in art.

Philanthropy

In 1990 she donated 103 artworks by her father to Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Ida Chagall died on 10 August 1994 in Brulat du Castellet in southern France at the age of 78.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chagall, Ida 1916 births 1994 deaths People from Vitebsk Museum directors Jews in the French resistance French Resistance members