BERMAN Leonid Gustavovich (pseudonym — Leonid)

1896 (St. Petersburg) — December 1976 (New York)

Painter, graphic artist

Berman was born to wealthy family. He was educated in St. Petersburg. He was the elder brother of the artist E. G. Berman. Soon after the October Revolution, Berman moved to Finland, where he became acquainted with N. K. Roerich. On his advice, Berman went to Paris and entered the Ranson Academy in 1920. He studied under M. Denis, P. Sérusier, F. Vallaton, Vuillard, and P. Bonnard. Later Berman with his former classmates established a studio at his parents’ house at the Avenue de Malakoff.

Since 1923 Berman exposed his works at the Autumn Salon, Salon of Independents and the Salon des Tuileries. In 1926 together with his brother, P. F. Chelishev, K. Berard and students from Ranson Academy held an exhibition at the gallery Drouet, which marked the beginning of the neo-romantic trend in European painting. In 1925–1929 Berman worked at the Mediterranean. He painted seashores, fishing villages, Marseilles and Toulon harbor scenes. He held his personal exhibitions at the Paris galleries Pierre (1926), Modern Art (1927). In 1928 he participated in the exhibition The Modern French Art in Moscow.

During the economic crisis of the early 1930s Berman became bankrupt. However, art dealer and fashion designer Christian Dior became his protector. He rented a house for the painter in Granville (Normandy) and organized Berman’s personal exhibition at the gallery J. Levy in New York (1935). In 1930s Berman continued to paint mostly coast landscapes of western and northern France; he was strongly influenced by surrealism.

In 1939 Berman was called up for military service (French army). After the capture of Paris by German troops, Berman was forced to hide under an assumed name in a small village in southern France. Then, on the order of occupation authorities, Berman got involved in labor service at construction works for 3 years.

After liberation, Berman moved to the USA in 1946. Soon after, he married famous pianist S. Marlow. He held a series of exhibitions at New York galleries, including the gallery Durlacher. Until the end of his life Berman remained committed to the marine theme. Works of the late period were characterized by clarity of lines and unusual angle — bird’s-eye view.

He wrote memoirs: book Three Worlds by Leonid (New York, 1978).

Along with his brother Eugene, Leonid Berman was one of the founders of neo-romantic trend in Western European Art of the mid-20th century. Neo-romantism, unlike Cubism and Futurism, was aimed to renew interest in figurative painting. In his artworks, Berman followed the once chosen theme, which he changed a little sometime. Seashores, lagoons, bays, harbor scenes were typical subjects of his paintings since 1920s until his death. In 1920s — early 1930s he was interested in impressionism, post-impressionism, and art of the Metaphysical artists. He studied the classical landscape of the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1930s Berman began to work in surrealism style.

Works by Leonid Berman are in many museum and private collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery in Washington, the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice and others.