MIDLER Victor Markovich

December 21, 1888 (Tomashpol, Kamenets-Podolsk province) — 1979 (Moscow)

Painter, graphic artist

Midler was born to a family of tailor. He graduated from the city’s two-year school (heder). Midler received his general education in gymnasium in Nemirov, and then studied at Novorossijsk University in Odessa (graduated in 1909 with a pharmacist assistant diploma). Midler studied at Odessa Art School (1908–1913) under A. M. Nurenberg, G. A. Ladyzhensky, and K. K. Kostandi. He continued his education in Moscow at the workshops of A. V. Kuprin, I. I. Mashkov and R. Falk.

In 1918–1923 Midler lived in Central Asia. He was the vice-chairman of the Turkestan Committee on conservation and restoration of cultural monuments and antiquities.

In 1923 Midler moved to Moscow. He worked as senior curator at the Department of Contemporary Russian Art of the State Tretyakov Gallery (since 1923); he was in charge of formation of museum collection (he collected works of artists of the Soviet period) and organization of exhibitions, including retrospective exhibitions Masters of the group Golubaya Roza (“Blue Rose”) in 1925, Bubnoviy Valet (“Jack of Diamonds”) in 1927. In 1927 Midler went on business trip to France and Germany, where he studied artworks of Russian artists abroad and the museum affairs. He also became acquainted with Alexander Benois, K. A. Korovin, M. F. Larionov, N. S. Goncharova, V. I. Shukhaev, A. E. Yakovlev, M. Chagall, P. Picasso, G. Rouault, Ch. Soutine, O. Zadkine, Le Corbusier and others. On his return, Midler organized an exhibition The Modern French Art (1928) in the State Museum of New Western Art.

At the same time Midler was engaged in painting and graphic art. He painted landscapes, portraits, still lifes, paintings on themes of the Soviet life. In his early works Midler was close to the art of the masters of the group Mir Iskusstva (“World of Art”); he was under the influence of post-impressionists. In 1919 he participated in decoration of Odessa for the revolutionary holidays. In 1925–1926 he made a trip to the Jewish colonies in the Ukraine and the Crimea. As a result of that trip, Midler performed a series of works about the Jewish shtetles and a series of portraits. He was one of the organizers of Moscow Regional Union of Soviet Artists (MOSSKh).

Since 1917 Midler participated in exhibitions. He was a member of Odessa Association of Independent Artists (1918), the society Four Arts (1926–1929). He participated in the anniversary exhibition of Art of the USSR (1927), exhibitions of works on revolutionary and Soviet themes, the exhibition Socialist construction in the Soviet art (both — 1930), exhibitions of works of artists sent on a mission to the regions of the industrial building and collective farms in Moscow (1931, 1932), the anniversary exhibition Artists of the RSFSR for 15 years in Leningrad, in Moscow (1932–1934) and others. Midler’s works were exposed at a number of exhibitions of the Soviet Art abroad, in particular at the traveling exhibition in the USA (1929, New York–Philadelphia–Boston–Detroit), in Vienna, Berlin (both — 1930).

Works by Victor Midler are in many museum collections, including the State Tretyakov Gallery, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts and others.