Artist Solomon Gaff was born in Amsterdam in April 1879, the son of a Jewish diamond merchant.
The artist's parents, Emmanuel Garf and Sofia Koka, wanted their son to continue the family business, but Solomon Gaff entered the Academy of Applied Arts and, after five years of study, continued his education at the National Academy of Applied Arts.
After graduating from the academy, Solomon Gaff moved to the Lorena colony, where in 1905 he married Cosette Eva Bazang.
In 1914, the artist won the "Wilink van Collin" prize, after which he settled in Amsterdam with his family and began painting still lifes and portraits of women.
In 1928, Solomon Gaff was widowed and never remarried.
In 1933, the artist was awarded the Queen Wilhelm Gold Medal and five years later became a member of the prestigious Arti et Amicitiae board member. In 1941, by order of the Nazis, Solomon Gaff was expelled from all social and institutional groups, and a year later he was arrested and sentenced to hanging. He escaped arrest, went underground and joined the resistance, helping to produce false documents, but was extradited as a traitor, arrested and sent to Auschwitz, where he was killed in 1943.
The artist's students managed to preserve a small part of the teacher's work. The rest of the paintings were confiscated and destroyed by the Nazis.
Works by artist Salomon Garf
