The painter Leon Hirszenberg was born into a Jewish family in Łódź, Poland in 1869, the younger brother of the renowned Polish-Jewish painter Samuel Hirszenberg (1865-1908), who originally instructed him in painting (some of Leon's early works are inscribed 'Noel' to distinguish his work from his brother's); he was also a brother-in-law of the painter Henry (Enrico) Glicenstein. Around 1890 Leon went to Munich to continue his studies privately, later returning to his native city and exhibiting in Lodz and Warsaw. Around 1902-03 he left for Paris, frequently visiting Concarneau in Brittany, and probably through Olga Boznańska, meeting and coming under the influence of the painter Władysław Ślewiński. In 1905 Hirszenberg settled in the Breton fishing village of Perros-Guirec, exhibiting in Paris (including at the Independent Salon) and in Cracow, where he first showed work on Breton themes. In 1930, when Ben Uri's Honorary President Leopold Pilichowski presented a number of Hirszenberg's works to the Collection including the landscape 'In Brittany', he was listed as residing in Paris. Leon Hirszenberg died in Paris, France on 31 May 1945.