Max Pollak (1886-1970) was a painter and printmaker born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, but was raise in Vienna, Austria. Pollak enrolled at the Vienna Academy of Art in 1902, where he studied painting and printmaking under William Unger and Ferdinand Schmutzer. In 1912, he won the Prix de Rome for etching. In the same year, Pollak also traveled to France and Holland to continue studying and painting. During WWI, he was appointed as an official painter of the Austrian Army and documented the stark landscapes where his battalion was stationed. Pollak's stance was anti-war, so he also took record of POW's and war refugees. He created a portfolio of etchings called "Im Barackenlager Nikolsburg", which depicted the daily denigration of Galacian Jews who were forced to relocate into barracks in Nikolsburg, Moravia. He was punished by the government and was sen to work for the war industry making casts of war machinery in a factory. In 1924, Pollak married Friederike Knedel and immigrated to New York City around 1927. He explored his new city and created etchings of the local places he visited. Pollak had his first exhibition at the 57th Street Art Gallery in 1928 which was deemed successful, then was commissioned by Theodore Dreiser to illustrate his book "My City" in 1929, which also included eight reproductions of his color aquatints of Manhattan. In 1930, Pollak was invited by Richard Gump to have an exhibition at Gump's Department Store. After this exhibition, Pollak and his wife continued with their travels. The two returned to Vienna in 1938 and were horrified by what they witnessed. Before leaving Vienna, Pollak's 500 copper printing plates were confiscated by the Nazis to melt down for their war efforts. The pair moved to San Francisco, where inspiration struck for Pollak. He produced more views of San Francisco neighborhoods, the Golden Gate Bridge and Sausalito. He would also frequently travel to Mexico and Guatemala during the 30s to 50s. Pollak was very skilled in drypoint, aquatint and soft ground etching. One of his specialties was portraiture, and he has produced many drypoints of high profiled people and dancers, such as his 1914 portrait of Sigmund Freud. Pollak has won many awards, including the Chicago Society of Etchers prize in 1942 and the California Society of Etchers awards in 1942, 1944 and 1945.
