Hyam Myer 1904-1978

Painter, draughtsman and sculptor Hyam Myer was born to Jewish-Romanian immigrant parents (his father was a journalist) in Prestwich, Manchester, England in 1904, but also became closely associated with the Jewish community in London's East End. Myer studied at the Slade School of Fine Art under Henry Tonks between 1920 and 1922, later continuing his studies in Munich and in Paris (where he was still resident in 1930). Between the wars he had a studio in Southern France, as well as in Paris and London. During the 1930s he exhibited frequently in group exhibitions at the Ben Uri Gallery in London (including in 1930, 1935, 1936, 1937 and 1946, and posthumously, in an exhibition on Manchester Jewish Artists in 1988). After the Second World War he taught at the Central School, St Martin's and the Royal College of Art. He was a member of the London Group and Chelsea Arts Club, and also exhibited in London with the Alpine Club (1924), alongside Horace Brodzky, among others; at the Warren Gallery (1928); and at the Goupil Gallery (1930) with Dora Crockett, as well as in Paris. He was associated with the circle of the British composer, conductor and author Constant Lambert in London and the British writer, heiress and activist Nancy Cunard in Paris. Hyam Myer died in London, England in 1978.