Born in Poland March 1, 1891, figurative sculptor Max Kalish came to the United States in 1894, his family settling in Ohio. A talented youth, Kalish enrolled at the Cleveland Institute of Art as a fifteen-year-old, receiving a first-place award for modeling the figure during studies with Herman Matzen. Kalish went to New York City following graduation, studying with Isidore Konti and Herbert Adams for the next two years.

In 1912, Kalish studied with Paul Bartlett at the Academie Colarossi in Paris, France. In 1913, he continued his studies with Jean Antoine Injalbert at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. The financial support of his brother, family and friends had enabled Kalish to travel to Europe. But the money ran out and, though Kalish ...