Note: Max Band was born in Kudirkos Naumiestis, Lithuania in 1900. This small village offered very little artistic guidance, however the young Band was determined to create. His first oil painting was made with homemade brushes he created from sticks. Band made his way to Berlin to study art where his talents were first recognized by the public. One of his first drawings was selected by his teacher and entered into an open exhibition. Upon seeing the work, a wealthy collector tracked down Band to purchase the drawing.

Never considering or putting much care into the financial value his artwork should garner Band could not name a price. Upon being pressed for a figure, Band responded that he valued time over money, so a figure was agreed upon based on two months’ worth of food. The French critic Paul Fierens described the early period of Band’s career stating, “The refinement of his color, this what he owes to France, that that he has taken something of Chardin, Corot or Bonnard, but the Parisian sky, after Lithuania and the Louvre, quite naturally became his third master. Paris, with its pale azure, its inimitable greys, its delightful white, offered itself to Max Band as an example and gave him excellent advice."

Max Band’s artistic output was largely made up of still lives, landscapes, and portraits of the sea. These subjects offer a free flow of color and movement. He also created many works of the Jewish religious experience during his life. These paintings offer a deep richness of feeling that could only be reflected by an artist of his skill and above all experience living through WWII.If one label can be attached to Band’s artwork it is Humanism. Whether it be the natural world, or more personal subjects, Band had a unique expression for deeper qualities hidden beneath the surface.

This unique vision was best stated by the artist in describing one of his paintings of Jewish Talmudic scholars, “After living in France for nearly twenty years I began to see something strange in the eyes of the people. As the threat of bombing grew ever more menacing, the proud French people, who for centuries had walked in pride and freedom, as befitted a nation universally regarded as the epitome of culture and spirit, began to live in fear. It showed in their eyes and gestures. They listened for threatening sounds in the night.”

Max Band left France in 1940 for the United States where he lived and worked for the remainder of his career. He passed away in 1974.

Max Band was born in Lithuania in 1900. He was drawing and painting from a young age, copying the works of great masters from magazines and books.

Moving to Berlin, he became a student of Willy Jaeckel. In 1926 he went to Paris where the works by Cézanne and Picasso had a significant influence on his work. A year later he had his first solo exhibition in his home country.

In addition to still lifes and landscapes, Band created numerous portraits. After the start of the Second World War he emigrated to America, where he permanently settled in 1954.

Works by the artist are held in the Jewish Museum Berlin and numerous other public collections.

Painter. Born on Aug. 21, 1900 in Naumestis, Lithuania. Band studied at the Berlin Academy. He authored "History of Contemporary Art" in 1935. In 1940 he settled in Hollywood and lived there until his death in November 1974.

Exh: Stendahl Gallery (LA), 1941; LACMA, 1943; Calif. Art Club, 1940s; CPLH, 1956.

In: Musee de Luxembourg, Petit Palais (Paris); LACMA; Riverside Museum. WWAA 1947-70; SS.