[1] He and his father immigrated to New York City in 1908, and they settled in the Lower East Side.
[2] He was involved with the People's Art Guild, an organization led by Professor John Weischel, Robert Henri and George Bellows that brought art directly to poor people.
It was through his work with the People's Art Guild that he met his wife, artist Theresa Bernstein.
[3] The couple would spend their summers in the Gloucester, Massachusetts art colony and the rest of the year in New York.
[2] Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes gave him his first portrait commission, and he completed portraits of several Justices of the Supreme Court.