Mané-Katz (French/Ukrainian, 1894–1962) was an Expressionist painter known for his scenes of Jewish life in the shtetls of Eastern Europe. Born Mane Leyzerovich Kats in Kremenchug in Ukraine, Mané-Katz studied at the Kiev School of Fine Arts, and then moved to France at 19, where he befriended artists such as
Pablo Picasso, and became associated with the School of Paris. After studying at the École des Beaux-Arts, he briefly returned to Russia, and later exhibited a Cubist work in St. Petersburg.
Initially, his style was classical and somber, but, over time, his palette changed to include bright, bold colors. He increasingly focused on Jewish themes, depicting rabbis, musicians, yeshiva students, and Hassidic figures. He also executed a number of landscapes and floral still lifes.
Mané-Katz made his first trip to Palestine in 1928, and made annual trips there beginning in 1948. In 1931, Mané-Katz’s painting,
The Wailing Wall, won a gold medal at the Paris Exposition Universelle. During the Second World War, Mané-Katz fled Nazi-occupied France for New York, where he produced sculptures as well as paintings.
The artist died in Tel Aviv, and left many of his works to the town of Haifa, where a museum was created to house the collection.