The work of Marc Chagall (1887–1985) seamlessly blended Russian and Jewish traditions with the Western avant-garde. In 1910, he moved to Paris, where he immersed himself in modernist movements, from Fauvism to Cubism, while forging connections with leading artists such as Robert Delaunay, Amedeo Modigliani and Guillaume Apollinaire.
Returning to Russia during World War I, he married Bella in 1915 and, following the 1917 Revolution, was appointed director of the Vitebsk Academy of Fine Arts. In 1922, he left Russia for Berlin and later Paris, collaborating with art dealer Ambroise Vollard on significant illustration projects, including The Fables of La Fontaine and The Bible.
With the rise of antisemitism in Europe, Chagall sought refuge in the United States in 1941. There, he exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York and reconnected with fellow exiled artists such as Fernand Léger and André Breton. Profoundly affected by the horrors of war and Jewish persecution, he explored these themes in deeply moving works like White Crucifixion (1938). After Bella’s sudden death in 1944, he found solace in his art, creating set designs for ballet productions. Until his passing in 1985, Chagall remained unwavering in his creative pursuits, leaving an indelible mark on modern art.
Marc Chagall’s works are housed in some of the world’s most prestigious public collections, including: Musée Marc Chagall (Nice, France); Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (Paris, France); Centre Pompidou (Paris, France); Museum of Modern Art (New York, United States); the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, United States); the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York, United States); the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, United States); the Jewish Museum (New York, United States); the Israel Museum (Jerusalem, Israel); Tel Aviv Museum of Art (Tel Aviv, Israel); Tate Modern (London, United Kingdom); the British Museum (London, United Kingdom); Victoria and Albert Museum (London, United Kingdom); Russian Museum (Saint Petersburg, Russia); Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (Brussels, Belgium); MAMCO (Geneva, Switzerland); Fondation Beyeler (Basel, Switzerland); Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna (Rome, Italy); Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Madrid, Spain); Museo de Arte Moderno (Mexico City, Mexico); National Gallery of Australia (Canberra, Australia).