Grigory Gluckmann
1898-1973

Gluckmann was born on October 25, 1898 in the Russian town of Vitebsk. At 19 he attended the Art Academy in Moscow, but left three years later in 1920 to Berlin to escape the Revolution. While in Berlin he changed his name from Glickman to Gluckmann.

In 1924 he went to Italy for 9 months where he produced many paintings. In October of 1924 he had his first one-man exhibition at the Galerie Druet in Paris. The next year he showed in the Salon des Tuileries, the Salon d’Automne and the Salon National des Beaux Arts. He had a solo Paris exhibition at Galerie Charpentier in 1934. He exhibited at Galerie Drouant with Jean Marembert, Van Montford, De Botton, and Levavasseur. In his time in Paris his career soared. His paintings were positively received by the critics and sold well. During this time he also exhibited in London and New York.

He painted Paris street scenes full of people, sensual nudes and Parisian nightlife. He became friends with world-renowned violinist Jascha Heifetz, Heifetz was also a major collector of Gluckmann’s work. Gluckmann preferred the company of musicians and intellectuals rather than other artists.

The classical painting techniques which Gluckmann learned in Moscow served him well throughout his career. He painted mostly on wood panels, using a layering method to apply his paint. This method was time consuming because he had to let each application dry before proceeding. The results were rich colors with depth and softness that worked well his subjects.

In June 1941 he escaped German occupied Paris to the south of France, then he immigrated to the United States. He first took a studio in New York, where he had several one-man exhibitions during the war.

He moved to Los Angeles in 1945, where he began exhibiting his paintings at the Dalzell Hatfield Galleries. He continued to show his work there for two decades along with many other European artists, including Pierre Sicard. in 1955 Dalzel Hatfield published a book on Gluckmann. The Galleries were located at the Ambassador Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard, the clientele included many Hollywood celebrities.

Gluckmann painted in Paris again, briefly, in 1954, exhibiting at the galerie Drouant-David, but maintained his residence in Los Angeles and eventually became an American citizen.

Gluckmann’s had a long ans successful career, his works are in many museums and private collections all over the world.