Maximilian Feuerring painting in his studio

Maximilian Feuerring was born into an orthodox Jewish family in Lvov, Poland. His studied at the Art School in Berlin (1916), Florence (1922), and Rome, Paris and Warsaw (1923-1927). In 1926 he gained a diploma with distinction at the Municipal School of Decorative Art, Rome. From 1934-39 he taught at the Academy of Fine Arts, Warsaw. On the outbreak of World War II, he was called up as an officer in the Polish army and then imprisoned in a prisoner of war camp at Murnau in Upper Bavaria. This period affected him profoundly, for 52 members of his family, including his wife and parents perished in the concentration camps. His life of starvation and hardship in the camp was tempered by art classes which he gave to his fellow officers, with material sent by the Red Cross. After the war, he taught at the Universitas International, Munich from 1947 - 1950, and then emigrated to Australia in 1950. [See the archive of Australian Judaica]

The work hanging on the wall appears to be a study for the painting 'View of Sydney Harbour Bridge and Neutral Bay from Bennelong Point' by Feuerring.