Sculpting as a Modern Woman: Chana Orloff (1888-1968) Chana Orloff (1888-1968) was a prolific sculptor who identified strongly as both a French and later Israeli artist. She was a Jewish émigré numerous times—first from the Ukraine to Palestine, then to Paris, followed by a forced exile in Switzerland during World War II, and finally with her return to Paris as a victim and survivor of the Nazi atrocities. Orloff was a central figure in the inner circle of the cosmopolitan Jewish artists and intellectuals in Paris, as well as a “foremother” of the Israeli art world before the establishment of the state. In this webinar, we will explore how gender, migration and transnationalism impacted Orloff’s life, work and critical reception.

Paula J. Birnbaum is Professor of Art History and Academic Director of the Museum Studies Program at the University of San Francisco. Her research focuses on modern and contemporary art…