Leo Michelson ( lv, Leo Mihelsons; 12 May 1887 – 10 April 1978) was a

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

n- American artist considered part of the École de Paris, although his works span many periods and styles.

Biography

Michelson was born in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

. He attended the Imperial Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia, and then the University of Tartu in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

, Estonia. The Russian Revolution of 1917 forced Michelson to leave Russia for Munich, Germany, where he participated in the beginnings of German Expressionism. By 1920 Michelson was living in Paris and had established an international reputation for his paintings,

prints In molecular biology, the PRINTS database is a collection of so-called "fingerprints": it provides both a detailed annotation resource for protein families, and a diagnostic tool for newly determined sequences. A fingerprint is a group of conserve ...

, and sculptures. As a prominent member of the Paris School his works were shown in major exhibits throughout Western Europe, the Soviet Union, and the United States. After the fall of Paris to Nazi Germany in 1939, Michelson fled to New York City, where he spent the rest of his life. Michelson is described as an "eternal emigrant, eternal student" because he was always studying and experimenting with new styles. Michelson actually carried crayons with him so he could sketch where ever he was. Art historians have compared Michelson to both Chagall and

Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

, but it was Titian who Michelson said was his inspiration. Michelson painted over 1,000 paintings. He died on 10 April 1978. His widow, Janine, selected Marshall, Texas, as the permanent home for her late husband's works. in what is known as the Michelson Museum of Art

External links

Michelson Museum of Art

References

1887 births 1978 deaths Artists from Riga People from the Governorate of Livonia Jews from the Russian Empire Jewish American artists Jewish painters Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Germany Marshall, Texas 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists French male painters German emigrants to France French emigrants to the United States 19th-century French male artists {{France-painter-19thC-stub