
Thomas Seaman
Specialist, Head of Sale
This auction has ended. View lot details



£8,000 - £10,000

Specialist, Head of Sale

Provenance
Private collection, UK.
Henri Epstein enrolled at Jakub Kacenbogen's drawing school in Łódź before continuing his studies at the School of Fine Arts in Munich. He first visited Paris in 1912, prior to his service in the Polish army. In 1913 he returned to Paris and settled at La Ruche where he remained until 1938. During this time he studied at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière.
Although Epstein's early work was influenced by Fauvism, he later adopted an Expressionist style. In 1921, he illustrated Vagabondages by Gustave Coquiot, and in 1925 he illustrated Les Rois du Maquis by Pierre Bonardi. He is also believed to have contributed to the short-lived Jewish artistic journal Machmadim published at La Ruche as well as to the magazine Renaissance for which he wrote articles in Yiddish.
In 1938, Epstein purchased a house in Épernon, which served as his refuge during the Occupation. In 1944, he was arrested by the Gestapo, interned at the Drancy transit camp, and later murdered at Auschwitz.
Please note that this lot is withdrawn.