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David Hendler, Israeli, born in Russian Empire, 1904-1984

David Hendler was born in Kiev, today Ukraine, to a Hasidic family. When he was four, the family moved to Prague. As a teenager, he learned copper beating and tinsmithing, and found work in these trades. He also studied drawing privately with Prof. Pichel of the Academy of Art in Prague. In 1924, he immigrated to the Land of Israel as a pioneer and joined Gdud Ha'avoda. From 1929, he devoted himself to painting.

In 1936, Hendler became a member of Massad, a group of young local artists. His work from that period shows the influence of modernist French painting. In the mid-1940s, Hendler met Aviva Uri, who began to study drawing with him. They married in 1963. In the 1950s, he rarely showed his work. In 1961, his drawings were exhibited at Bezalel's national museum and in 1977, Tel Aviv Museum mounted a solo exhibition of his work.

Hendler is known for his sketches of people and street scenes, many of them in small format.

Education

1918 Private drawing lessons with Professor Pichel, Art Academy of Prague, Czechoslovakia.
Studied art with Yitzhak Frenkel

Awards And Prizes

1938 Dizengoff Prize for Painting and Sculpture
1945-46, Dizengoff Prize
1948 Dizengoff Prize