Salomon Garf (6 December 1879,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

– 27 August 1943,

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

) was a Dutch painter and graphic artist; known for his portraits and

still life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, m ...

s. He was murdered in

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

Biography

He was born to a family of diamond merchants and his father worked as a stockbroker.Brief biography
@ VVNK 1900. Rather than follow in the family business, he chose a career in art, studying at the "Institute for Applied Arts" (1892–1895), the "State Normal School for Applied Arts" (1895–1899) and the

Rijksakademie The Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten (State Academy of Fine Arts) was founded in 1870 in Amsterdam. It is a classical academy, a place where philosophers, academics and artists meet to test and exchange ideas and knowledge. The school support ...

(1899–1905), where he worked with

August Allebé August Allebé (19 April 1838 – 10 January 1927) was an artist and teacher from the Northern Netherlands. His early paintings were in a romanticism, romantic style, but in his later work he was an exponent of realism (arts), realism and impress ...

and

Nicolaas van der Waay Nicolaas van der Waay (1855–1936) was a Dutch decorative artist, watercolorist and lithographer. He worked in many genres, including stamp, coin and banknote designs. He is perhaps best known for the allegorical illustrations he created for the ...

. In 1904, he entered the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

with his depiction of the

Raising of the son of the woman of Shunem The raising of the son of the woman of Shunem is a miracle by Elisha narrated in the Hebrew Bible, 2 Kings 4. The story begins at 2 Kings 4:8, and is demarcated from the previous story by Elisha's arrival in Shunem, and by a change in heroine � ...

, but the prize went to

Jan Sluijters Johannes Carolus Bernardus (Jan) Sluijters, or Sluyters (17 December 1881 in 's-Hertogenbosch – 8 May 1957 in Amsterdam) was a Dutch painter and co-founder of the Moderne Kunstkring. Sluijters (in English often spelled "Sluyters") was a leadi ...

. After graduating, he moved to the artists' colony in Laren and was married there two years later. In 1914, he won the

Willink van Collenprijs Willink van Collenprijs (''English'': The Willink van Collen Award) is a former Dutch art award, which was awarded for the first time in 1880 by the Sociëteit Arti et Amicitiae. It was intended as an encouragement award for young artists, and wa ...

for a painting of his studio. That same year, he and his family moved back to Amsterdam. In Laren, he had focused on painting rural interiors and still lifes. Once he had become established in Amsterdam, he mostly produced portraits and interior scenes with elegantly dressed women. His wife died in 1928, and he never remarried.Biographical notes
@ Joods Monument He was a member of

Arti et Amicitiae Arti et Amicitiae (lat .: For Art and Friendship) is a Dutch artist's society founded in 1839, and located on the Rokin in Amsterdam. The Society (also called Arti for short) has played a key role in the Netherlands art scene and in particular i ...

and, in 1933, was awarded their golden medal on behalf of

Queen Wilhelmina Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands The monarchy of the Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy. As such, the role and position of the monarch are governed by the ...

. Garf's work was included in the 1939 exhibition and sale ''

Onze Kunst van Heden Onze Kunst van Heden (Contemporary Artists/Our Art of Today) was an exhibition held in the winter of 1939 through 1940 at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Due to the threat of invasion in the years leading up to World War II, the Netherlands' go ...

'' (Our Art of Today) at the

Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the St ...

in Amsterdam. In 1938, he became a member of Arti's Board of Directors, but was expelled from the organization in 1941, by orders of the German occupation command. He then became active in the

Resistance Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...

, helping to forge false "Persoonsbewijzen" (Identity Cards). On August 6, 1943, he was arrested and sent to Auschwitz, by way of the

Westerbork transit camp Camp Westerbork ( nl, Kamp Westerbork, german: Durchgangslager Westerbork, Drents: ''Börker Kamp; Kamp Westerbörk'' ), also known as Westerbork transit camp, was a Nazi transit camp in the province of Drenthe in the Northeastern Netherlands, d ...

, and was murdered. His students managed to save the contents of his studio before they were confiscated.

Selected paintings

File:Garf-Violinst.jpg,

Hans Kindler Johannes Hendrikus Philip Kindler (January 8, 1892 – August 30, 1949) was a Dutch American cellist and conductor who founded the National Symphony Orchestra. He was married to painter Alice Kindler and Persis Chase Myers. Kindler as ...

as a Young Violinist File:Salomon Garf, Toilet maken.jpg, Woman Making her Toilet File:Garf-Beethoven.jpg, Still-life with Beethoven Mask File:Garf-Wajang.jpg, Still-life with

Wayang , also known as ( jv, ꦮꦪꦁ, translit=wayang), is a traditional form of puppet theatre play originating from the Indonesian island of Java. refers to the entire dramatic show. Sometimes the leather puppet itself is referred to as . Perfor ...

References

External links

ArtNet: More works by Garf.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garf, Salomon 1879 births 1943 deaths 20th-century Dutch painters Dutch male painters Dutch still life painters Portrait painters Jewish painters Dutch people who died in Auschwitz concentration camp Painters from Amsterdam Resistance members from Amsterdam Dutch Jews who died in the Holocaust 20th-century Dutch male artists