Dedicated to art expression with social-realist themes of the Depression Era in America, Moses Soyer was born in Czarist Russia in 1899, and was one of three artistic brothers, the others being Raphael and Isaac. Raphael Soyer was Moses' identical twin. Later in his career, Moses Soyer turned to the depiction of female figures, especially ballet dancers.

The Soyer brothers were raised in an intellectual atmosphere created by their father, a Hebrew scholar. In 1912, the Soyers emigrated to the United States and eventually settled in New York City.

Moses Soyer's artistic studies began in 1916, and included classes in New York at Cooper Union, the National Academy of Design, the Educational Alliance, and the Modern School, where...