Arbit Blatas

1908–1999

Arbit Blatas (1908–1999), born Neemija Arbitblatas in Kaunas, studied painting in Berlin and Dresden in 1924–1926, then settled in Paris, where he became the youngest member of the School of Paris; during the Second World War he moved to New York. He painted, made prints and sculpture, and designed opera productions. Portraiture was central to his work: he constantly drew his friends and acquaintances, and his 30 painted and bronze portraits of School of Paris artists are regarded as a document of that era. He created a Holocaust memorial whose bas-reliefs stand in Venice, Paris, New York and at the Ninth Fort in Kaunas. His works are held by the Lithuanian National Museum of Art and the M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art.

4 artworks to rent