Bernard Reder

Bernard Reder was a printmaker and sculptor born in Czernowitz, Bukovina in Austria (Chernivtsi, Ukraine after World War II). Much of his work is deeply rooted in ancient and modern religious lore, especially from the Hebrew Bible. After serving in World War I, Reder moved to Prauge to study at the Academy of Fine Arts. He would return home for a brief period after completing his studies, but growing anti-Semitic views in Austria would lead the artist to flee back to Prauge, where he had his first solo exhibition at Manes Gallery in 1935. The exhibition drew great acclaim and was a huge success for Reder. 

In 1937, Reder moved to Paris where he befriended sculptor Aristide Maillol. Little did Reder know at the time, Maillol would be one of his saving graces during in World War II. For a few years though Reder enjoyed relative peace as he continued to work on his art. He was even exhibited at Wildenstein Gallery in 1940. Unfortunately, World War II brought the Nazi invasion of France and being Jewish, Reder and his wife had to flee. Maillol helped them secure passage to Spain and none too soon. The Nazis would inevitably destroy Reder's studio in Paris. Reder would later flee Europe all together and travel to Cuba, where focused more of drawing and woodcuts.

He and his wife moved to New York in 1943 and became a citizen in 1948. Reder did quite well for himself in the last two decades before his death. He was exhibited multiple times at the Whitney Museum in New York and the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Pennsylvania. Two of those exhibitions included the 3rd Sculpture International in 1949 in Philadelphia, and a solo exhibition at the Whitney in 1961. It was the first time the Whitney had dedicated the entire museum to a one-man show since it had moved uptown, according to Flora Biddle in her book "The Whitney Women and the Museum they Made."