Soyer, Raphael (1899-1987)

Russian-born US painter and writer whose family emigrated to New York in 1912. He was a social realist, as in Farewell to Lincoln Square (1959), and a figure painter, as seen in Standing Nude Female (1960). His most famous book was Diary of an Artist (1977).

He was born in Tombov, Russia, the twin of Moses Soyer and brother of Isaac Soyer. He worked in a factory, studied at Cooper Union 1914-17 and the National Academy of Design 1918-22, and, beginning in 1932, taught at the Art Students League.