Arbit Blatas

Lithuanian/American, 1908-1999

Arbit Blatas was a Lithuanian-born painter, sculptor, and stage designer whose work spanned continents and disciplines. Born in Kaunas, Lithuania, he held his first solo exhibition at fourteen. By seventeen, he had relocated to Paris, where he became the youngest recognized member of the École de Paris, alongside artists like Chaim Soutine, Pablo Picasso, and Georges Braque.

Blatas’s early paintings depicted Parisian life with a moody, expressive palette. Over time, his work grew bolder in color and form, often exploring musical and theatrical themes. His long engagement with The Threepenny Opera, captured in paintings, sculpture, and lithography, remains a hallmark of his career.

Fleeing Nazi-occupied France in 1941, Blatas settled in New York and built a transatlantic career. Postwar, he worked between New York, Paris, and Venice, expanding into opera design. In the 1970s and ’80s, he collaborated with his wife and stage director, Regina Resnik, on major international productions.

Blatas exhibited widely, including at the Salon d’Automne and the Carnegie Institute, and his work is held in the Musée de l’Orangerie, MoMA, and the Smithsonian. Honors include the Légion d’Honneur and the Gold Medal “Venezia Riconoscente.” For collectors, Blatas offers a rare convergence of School of Paris practices and the emotional depth of an artist shaped by exile.