Rajmund Mojzesz Kanelbaum was born in Warsaw, Poland on February 24, 1897. He began his formal art studies in 1918 at the Academia Stuk Pieknych in Warsaw. After completing his studies at the Academia in 1919, Raymond would travel to Vienna, Austria to continue his art education at the Beaux-Arts Academie until 1922. Raymond Kanelba would return to Warsaw in 1923 to marry (possibly prearranged by their parents) a Maria Wohl, the wealthy daughter of a Polish industrialist. After a brief stay, Raymond and his new wife would leave for Paris. The French capital was Raymond's dream fulfilled. He wanted to be part of the energy and to inhale its unique atmosphere, which would fulfill a promise of a life, released from the conservative constants of his Jewish heritage and the politics of Poland.

The greatest influence was from a group of 100 central European artists who formed a colony in Montparnasse between 1910 and 1939, the l'Ecole de Paris. This movement had emerged on the footpath of Impressionism, Cubism and Fauvism. The term l'Ecole de Paris had been used prior to World I by German newspapers to identify all avante garde trends that were set against German Expressionism. Pablo Picasso was the most remarkable representative of the school, which included Matisse, Rouault, Utrillo, Foujita and Chagall. However since many of these artists were schooled in Berlin, they showed an influence and a leaning towards Expressionism, a trend never absorbed in France in its purist form, despite finding its roots in France.

The Kanelba's arrived in Paris in 1925. Raymond had dreamed of joining his bohemian friends whom he had met in Berlin. He and Maria did not exactly fit the social structure of this unique artistic community. When they arrived in Paris, they weren't struggling to make ends meet. Raymond obviously had married well and was therefore able to afford an apartment and a studio without having to depend on paintings sales. However, he understood and related to their sorrows, their memories, their habits, their accents and dreams. He was drawn to the city by the stories of an exciting life in the Cafes of Montmartre and Montparnasse and the dozens of celebrated studios. These young artists were confronted with the same hostile prejudices making it necessary to regroup to protect themselves from the unfriendly atmosphere. They were not united by a movement but attached to l'Ecole de Paris through their place of residence. They all were viewed as aliens who instilled something Jewish in their paintings. It is not by accident that the great painters of l'Ecole de Paris, Marc Chagall, Amedeo Modigliani, Chaim Soutine, Moise Kisling and Julius Paschin, were Jews. Raymond Kanelba's paintings would speak for themselves. He became a regular exhibitor at the Salon d'Automne from 1925 until 1956, at the Salon des Independents from 1926 to 1928, the Salon des Truileries from 1927 to 1938 and the Salon de l'escalier in 1928. As a member of l'Ecole de Paris, Kanelba would befriend and exhibit with artists like: Max Band; Moise Kisling; Mane Katz; Alfred Aberdam; Zygmunt Menkes; Eugene Zak; Leopold and Henryk Gottlieb; Roman Kramstyk; Pinchus Krenegne; Michel Kikoine; Vladimir Naiditch and Jacques Lipschitz.

By 1925, several galleries in France started to take the risk and exhibit the growing number of artists from l'Ecole de Paris. Important galleries like: Galerie Berthe Weill; Galerie Bernheim Jeune; Galerie Bing; Galeries Druet; Galerie des Quatre Chemins; Galerie Cheron; Galerie Denise Rene; Galerie Georges Petit and the Galerie Zborovski. In 1927, after a successful exhibition in Bordeaux, Raymond was introduced to Marcel Berneim, the famous collector and critic, at Galerie Bernheim Jeune. He was also introduced to Leopold Zborovski, Amedeo Modigliani's (1884-1920) agent and close friend, at Galerie Zborovski.

Each gallery owner had an interest in representing his work. Berneim and Zborovski both laid claim to the discovery of Raymond Kanelba. Rather than loose the artist, Marcel Berneim and Leopold Zborovski agreed to jointly promote his work with exhibitions and one-man shows.

Kanelba's first major exhibition was at Galerie Zborovski in 1928. Andre Salmon, one of France's most noted poets and critics of the time, would write the introduction to the exhibition catalogue. His successes continued with exhibitions in 1931 at Galerie Hartberg, Berlin, in 1932 at Galerie Berthe Weil, Paris, in 1932 at the Institut de Propagande de l' Art, Warsaw and at the 1933 exhibition at the Institut de Propagande de l'Art, Lodz, Poland.
After the exhibition at Galerie Zborovski in 1928, the French art critic Thiebault-Sisson of "le temps"would write, "...of all the young people from abroad who flock here in order to be formed through contact with our artists, I know of no other who is more richly gifted than this Pole, Kanelba. His vision is as delicate as it is subtle, and his eye is extraordinarily sensitive to all kinds of modulations of color and all the variations of the atmosphere."
Oct. 1928
Kanelba would be honored once again by Andre Salmon, who would write the monograph for his 1933 exhibition at Galerie Zborovski.
After the 1933 exhibition, critic Georges Waldeman of "le reve mondiale"would write, "The Kanelba show, one of the young hopes of ecole de Paris has aroused great interest."
"painter of portraits and interiors, Kanelba is a painter of atmosphere."
April 1933
Kanelba would continue to exhibit at the Salons in Paris, Poland, Demark and Belgium. However, his last one-man exhibition in Paris was at the prestigious Galerie Zak, Place St. Germain-des-Pres.
At the outbreak of World War II, these painters were rejected and persecuted. Several of them fled France and many did not survive the war.
In 1934, Raymond, his wife and their 6-year-old son, George, would leave Paris under pressure and immigrate to London. They would travel through out the British Isles, including Scotland and Wales. During their travels and prior to settling in London, Raymond began exhibiting paintings and accepting portrait commissions. Most noted were his commissions to paint Lady Beauchamp Tufnell and Lady Violet Astor's grandchildren in London.
In 1937, Kanelba was invited to have a one-man exhibition at Alex Reid & Lefevre Gallery, one of London's most prestigious galleries. During the 1930's they represented Bonnard, Picasso, Utrillo, Dufy, Mondrain, Miro, Kandinsky, Giacometti, Moore and Calder. His sponsor for the exhibition was the Polish Ambassador, Count Edward Raczynski, whose portrait he would paint. During that period, he also was commissioned to paint Miss Margaret Dupont de Memours of Wellington, Delaware and Ms. Francis Day of London England.
1937, Kanelba would be invited to the United States for a one-man exhibition at the Reinhardt Galleries on 5th Avenue in New York and the Victor Hammer Gallery. His acceptance in the United States was incredible. The gallery's clients included some of America's prestigious social figures.
Between 1937 and 1951, Raymond Kanelba would make several trips to the United States to participate one-man exhibitions and group shows. He would continue to accept portrait commissions and exhibit in London, Scotland and Paris.
Kanelba's portrait commissions included some of the world's most famous and glamorous women. He was commissioned to paint the Baroness Eugene de Rothschield (1940), Miss Veronica Waugh (1940) and Lady Diana Jersey (1942) all from London. In the mid 40's, he was commissioned to paint Mrs. Revson of New York (1947) and Mrs. Henry Lewis Dupont, Jr. of Delaware. The London list would grow to include Lady D'Avigdor Goldsmith (1948), Lady Patricia Bradbourne (1949) and Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava (1949). His list of American socialites would be equality impressive. Most noted were Miss Windy Vanderbilt, Mrs. Richard Rogers and Mrs. Spyro Skouras.
1951, Raymond and Maria would move permanently to the United States. Their son George would remain in London and live in his father's painting studio. The Kanelba's would set up residence at 799 Park Avenue in Manhattan, which he would also use as a studio. Kanelba would also rent a studio in West Port, Connecticut, where several of his clients had homes.
For the next 10 years, Raymond would exhibit in selected one-man shows and participate in national and international group exhibitions. He had previously exhibited at the Chicago Art Institute in 1938, 1939 and 1941 and would exhibit in New York at the National Academy of Design in 1950. His many successes in New York would lead to important one-man shows at Victor Hammer Gallery at 21 E. 57th in 1952 (where he had previously exhibited in 1937 and 1947) and at the Associated American Artists Galleries at 711 5th Avenue in 1954. He would participate in exhibitions at the Pennsylvania Fine Art Academy in 1954 and 1960 and at the Detroit Institute of the Arts.
In 1955, Raymond Kanelba would receive his most prestigious commission. England's Grenadier Guards commissioned a portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II dressed in the Uniform of the Colonel-in-Chief, an appointment she held shortly after her accession in 1952, to celebrate the Guard's 300th anniversary. The portrait, painted in Buckingham Palace, was the centerpiece at the Regiment's Tercentenary Exhibition at St. James Palace.
Raymond Kanelba completed his dream in 1957 by becoming a citizen of the United States of America. Raymond Kanelba had traveled the world. He enjoyed a very active life and successful career as a painter and a portrait artist. He exhibited in prestigious galleries in America, Europe and the United Kingdom. The French, Polish and British governments had all purchased his paintings for there collections. His works hang in the National Museum in Warsaw, the Museum of Art in Kodz and the Norton Museum in West Palm Beach Florida. His portrait commissions are from some of the world's most glamorous people and his paintings are in private collections on all the continents but on July 23, 1960, while on a trip to London Raymond Kanelba would die and it all would come to an end. In 1961, the Selected Artists Galleries 903 Madison Avenue in New York City would hold a memorial and retrospective exhibition. After the exhibition closed, Mrs. Kanelba would gather all of his paintings and the contents of his studios in New York, West Port and London and place everything into storage. The painting would remain in storage until the death of Maria Kanelba in 1995.

Biography courtesy of Roughton Galleries, www.antiquesandfineart.com/roughton