Jona Mach was born in Breslau, Germany in 1917 and went on to study painting in Italy and France. He immigrated to Israel in 1935 with the refugee organisation Youth Aliyah and was settled on the kibbutz Maoz Haim. Mach continued his painting studies in Jerusalem under Jacob Steinhardt in 1940, finally moving to Jerusalem in 1951. A celebrated teacher, his posts have included Art tutor at the Hebrew University and supervisor for Art and Education at the Ministry of Education. He is also a founder of the Jerusalem Artists’ House and co-founder of the Kibbutz Artists’ Association. He has exhibited in the USA, Canada, England, and Italy.