Polish painter and graphic designer Leonia Nadelman graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warszawa, where she lived with her parents. Before she graduated in painting and graphics in 1935, she competed in two Olympic art competitions. In 1928 Nadelman competed with her woodcut The Wrestlers and in 1932 with her painting Cyclists. During this time, she also became a member of the Ryt (Association of Polish Graphic Artists) and of a Masonic Lodge. On 6 September 1939 she left Warszawa together with her family, because of their Jewish descent. They were deported back to Warszawa by the Gestapo to the ghetto in 1941. In August 1942 they moved to the “Aryan side” with the help of false papers, lived at a friend’s place, and later moved to Mielec. Nadelman had papers for the name Atanians, then Janecka. After the war she came back to Warszawa, and lived at different places, also in Ursus. She depicted a Jewish wedding in one of her engravings and created numerous illustrations for books. After the war she was in a relationship with her colleague Artur Nacht-Samborski for many years.
Poland