Isaac Pailes (1895-1978). The landscape, figure and still life painter was born in 1895 into a Kyiv family of goldsmiths. At the age of 13 years, Pailes began to show interest in printmaking and sculpturing and began to experiment in these genres. In 1910 he entered the Academy of Fine Arts, where he met Isaac Rybak and Max Kaganovitch, who later became his art dealers for more than 40 years.

In 1913 Pailes stayed in Paris for one year and after a few detours and some turmoil he eventually settled permanently in Paris in 1919. Pailes spent the war years away from the capital in various rural areas and joined a Belgian resistance group. On his return to Paris, he created his first abstract work in...