Born in Ukraine in 1888, Chana Orloff settled in Paris in 1910 becoming a naturalised citizen in 1926.
She was associated with the Fauves and Cubists early in her career, and was a greatly admired and successful member of the École de Paris artists during the 1920s and 1930s.
Alongside the likes of Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau and Marc Chagall, she exhibited regularly in all the major Salons and exhibitions in Paris. She worked in a wide variety of media, sculpting primarily genre subjects and portraits.