BECKER Maurice (Maurice Becker)

1889 (Nizhny Novgorod) — 1975 (new-Йорк)

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From a Jewish family; is the younger brother of dancer and choreographer, one of the pioneers of modern dance in the U.S. Helen (Elena) Tamiris, sculptor Sam Becker. In 1892 together with his family moved to the United States. Attended courses in accounting, simultaneously attended art courses, he studied under the guidance Р. Генри (1908). Member of naturalistic "school of trash" (the Ashcan School).

Lived in new-Йорке. Worked as an artist in the newspaper New York Tribune (1914-1915) and The Scripps newspapers (1915-1918). Freelance collaborated in the publications Harper's Weekly, Metropolitan magazine, The Saturday Evening Post.

was a supporter of socialism; a member of the Communist party USA, and a number of pacifist organizations. He was married to activist of the Communist party Dorothy Baldwin.

Published drawings and caricatures, done mostly in charcoal, graphite pencil, black watercolor, and directed against the First world war, in the radical "leftist" publications — The Masses (the"Masses", from 1912), The New Masses ("New mass"), The Liberator ("Liberator"), The Revolt ("Rebellion"), The Toiler ("Worker"), The New Solidarity ("New solidarity") and others. In 1931 visited the Soviet Union.

In 1917 he was called up for military service in 1918-1919 was a fugitive from service in Mexico. In 1919, convicted and sentenced to 25 years hard labour in the Fort-Ливенуорте (Kansas state), in the same year Amnesty.

In 1921-1923 he lived in Mexico, worked for the English-language magazine El Pulsa de Mexico. In 1923 he returned to the US. Since the mid 1920-х mainly engaged in painting. He painted landscapes, genre scenes, portraits in an expressive manner.

Member of the modernist Armory Show exhibition ("exhibition " Arsenal"") in new-Йорке (1913). Held a personal exhibition "Watercolors of Maine and Florida" at Macbeth Gallery in new-Йорке (1942).

Work is represented in several Museum collections, among them — Institute and Museum of American art at the Butler in Youngstown (Ohio), Georgia Museum of art in Athens, the Museum of fine arts Washington County in Hagerstown.

Sources:
1. en.wikipedia.org
2. spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk