Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Eugene Berman studied art in Germany, Switzerland, and France, as well as with P.S. Naumoff, a Russian realist painter. In 1918 Berman's family fled Russia to escape the Bolshevik Revolution, moving to Paris where Berman continued his art studies with Bonnard and Vuillard. In 1932 the painter and gallerist Julian Levy offered Berman a show in New York. After Berman moved to New York, Levy continued to show his work, which merged romanticism and surrealism. In New York Berman also found work as a designer of magazine covers and sets for the Metropolitan Opera. He collaborated with Igor Stravinsky for decades. Berman traveled through the U.S. and Mexico, developing a fondness for the barren, southwestern landscape. After the death of his wife, Berman moved to Italy.
