Biography Chana Orloff

chana orloff, 1915, amazone, bronze, 73.5 cm

chana orloff born in russian empire (now ukraine). immigrated ottoman palestine in 1905 , settled in jaffa, found job cutter , seamstress. zvi nishri (orloff), pioneer in physical education in israel, brother.

she joined hapoel hatzair workers movement. after 5 years in country, offered teaching position in cutting , dressmaking @ gymnasia herzliya. went paris study fashion chose art instead, enrolling in sculpture classes @ académie russe in montparnasse. in 1916, married ary justman, warsaw-born writer , poet. couple had son, ary died of influenza in epidemic of 1919. when nazis invaded paris, orloff fled switzerland son , jewish painter georges kars. in february 1945, kars committed suicide in geneva, after orloff returned paris, find house had been ransacked , sculptures in studio destroyed.