Sacha Moldovan (born Shaya Gdalyevich Shnayder, ; November 4, 1901 – 1982) was a Russian-born American

expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

and

Post-Impressionist Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction a ...

painter.

Biography

Born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in Kishinev,

Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

(in

Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...

), where his parents Gdal Shnayder and Bunya Moldovan got married in 1891. He immigrated to the United States, studied 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 ...

, and became unyieldingly devoted to his work throughout his years. Moldovan is known to have worked with many other artists, including

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, ...

and

Chaïm Soutine Chaïm Soutine (; ; ; 13 January 1893 – 9 August 1943) was a French painter of Belarusian-Jewish origin of the School of Paris, who made a major contribution to the Expressionist movement while living and working in Paris. Inspired by clas ...

. The noted art critic Marla Berg once said of Moldavan,Mother's maiden name, as well as names of her father, brother, and sisters, are all listed as Moldavan (birth and marriage data are available at JewishGen.org). "Had

van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artwork ...

painted

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, ...

's pictures while dreaming of

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 ...

, the result would have been the works of Sacha Moldovan". Alongside these artists, he was influenced by

, and

Pierre Bonnard Pierre Bonnard (; 3 October 186723 January 1947) was a French painter, illustrator and printmaker, known especially for the stylized decorative qualities of his paintings and his bold use of color. A founding member of the Post-Impressionist gr ...

. The highest price every paid for a Moldovan was $50,000 for original sold by Hammer Galleries at a one-man show in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

(1991). Moldovan has one daughter, Wendy Moldovan, who today retains many of Sacha's works. Moldovan's great-nephew, Jonathan Herbert, is also painter. He works in a studio in Brooklyn, NY.

Selected works

* ''The Woods'' * ''Garden Fence'' * ''Blue Teapot'' * ''Sailboats in a Harbor'' * ''Onions'' * ''An Evening Stroll'' * ''Park Bench'' * ''Men Coming and Going'' * ''Veronique Reading''

References

Ken Hall, ''Rediscovering Moldovan''

1901 births 1982 deaths Artists from Chișinău People from Kishinyovsky Uyezd Moldovan Jews Bessarabian Jews Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Jewish American artists 20th-century American painters American male painters American Post-impressionist painters American Expressionist painters 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American male artists {{US-painter-1900s-stub