Dora Holzhandler (22 March 1928 – 8 October 2015) was a French-born British
painter
Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
based in London.
Biography
Dora Holzhandler was born to Jewish-Polish parents (Sehia Holzhandler, handbag maker and Ruchla Rocheman a singer and seamstress)
in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, France, and came to live in London when she was six years old.
In 1941 she moved to
Suffolk
Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
with her mother and attended the
West Suffolk County School in
Bury St Edmunds
Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as ''Bury,'' is a cathedral as well as market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk District, West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St. Edmunds an ...
.
She painted in the
naive style, influenced by
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...
and
Henri Matisse
Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...
.
Her work often incorporates repeated iconography, mystical and religious symbolism influenced by her personal beliefs. She was discovered by artist
Victor Pasmore
Edwin John Victor Pasmore, Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour, CH, CBE (3 December 190823 January 1998) was a British artist. He pioneered the development of abstract art in Britain in the 1940s and 1950s.
Early life
Pasmore was bo ...
in 1947 and had her first exhibition in 1954.
Her paintings are on display in the Museum of Modern Art in
Glasgow, Scotland
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
and the
Jewish Museum London
The Jewish Museum London was a museum of British Jewish life, history and identity. The museum was situated in Camden Town in the London Borough of Camden, north London. It was a place for people of all faiths to explore Jewish history, culture, ...
.
Holzhandler befriended violinist
Nigel Kennedy
Nigel Kennedy (born 28 December 1956) is an English violinist and viola, violist.
His early career was primarily spent performing classical music, and has since expanded into jazz music, jazz, klezmer, and other music genres.
Early life and ...
in 2012 after inviting him to a gallery private view, later painting his portrait.
Personal life
Holzhandler lived in London with her husband George Swinford, whom she married in 1950 after meeting at London's
Anglo-French Art Centre
The Anglo-French Art Centre (or Anglo-French Art School, previously the St John's Wood Art School, was an art school at 29 Elm Tree Road in St John's Wood, north London, England.
The centre was founded in 1946 by Alfred Rozelaar Green, who stu ...
.
She developed a dual belief in the Jewish and Buddhist faiths.
She died on 8 October 2015 at the age of 87.
References
Further reading
*
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holzhandler, Dora
1928 births
2015 deaths
20th-century British painters
21st-century British painters
Painters from London
French emigrants to the United Kingdom
20th-century British women painters
20th-century French women painters
20th-century French painters
21st-century British women painters