[1] In September 1913 Polak stayed in Berlin for six weeks to study with the photographer Karl Schenker, whom he had met in London.
[1] His photographic career was short, starting in 1912 and ending three years later because he suffered from bad health (severe asthma).
He sought to reproduce the domestic interiors seen in the paintings of 17th-century Dutch painters Johannes Vermeer and Jan Steen.
He found it difficult to rent a suitable studio but eventually discovered the ideal room on the Houttuin Rotterdam[1] with a good north light, the only drawback being that one had to approach it through a trap door.
[4] Despite critics contending that his work was repetitive and that he made unsuccessful attempts at recreating scenes from the past, he has since become the subject of some retrospectives.