Wolmark , Alfred Aaron , 1877-1961 , painter and decorative artist

Alfred Wolmark was born in Warsaw, Poland, and moved to England as a child in 1883. He studied at the Royal Academy Schools, where he won a silver medal for drawing, between 1895 and 1897. His first one-man show was at the Bruton Galleries in London in 1905. In 1911, he produced designs for Serge Diaghilev's ballets. He married Bessie Tapper in 1911 and they had two sons and a daughter. In 1915 Wolmark was one of the founders of the Ben Uri Art Society, where a memorial exhibition was held in 1961. Wolmark was influenced by the Post-Impressionists and knew Henri Gaudier-Brzeska (who modelled a bust of him). He died in London in 1961. Biographical information is included in the exhibition catalogues, 'Alfred Wolmark, 1877-1961: Memorial Exhibition of Paintings' (Ben Uri Art Gallery, 1961) and 'Alfred Wolmark' (Fine Art Society, 1970).