Naoum Aronson

Jewish sculptor. Born in the small town of Kraslavka in Vitebsk Province (now Kr?slava in south-east Latvia) in the family of Lvov Aronson (1872/73). Studied at the Ivan Trutnev School of Drawing in Vilna (1889–91). Attempted unsuccessfully to enrol at the Imperial Academy of Arts. Moved to Paris (1891), where he worked as a stone cutter in sculptural studios and studied at the École des Arts décoratifs and the Académie de Filippo Colarossi (1891). Visited Russia (1894–96) and returned to Paris (1896), where he worked as a professional sculptor. Member of the Société nationale des beaux-arts (1898). Founding member of the New Society of Artists (1904). Sculpted portraits of Ivan Turgenev, Leo Tolstoy (1901), Vera Komissarzhevskaya (1914), Grigory Rasputin (1916), Vladimir Lenin and more than ten busts of Louis Pasteur in honour of the scientist’s centenary (1916–22), which were erected in many French cities, including the garden of the Institut Pasteur in Paris. Awarded the Légion d’honneur (1924). Contributed to the work of Jewish organisations in Paris. Fled from the Nazis to Portugal (1940) and the United States (1941). Died in New York (1943). Contributed to the exhibitions of the Imperial Academy of Arts (from 1901), Exposition Universelle in Paris (1900, gold medal), World Fair in Liège (1905, gold medal) and a one-man show at the Galerie Decour in Paris (1926).