Biography
Painter and printmaker, born in Lodz, Poland of Jewish parents. Studied at the School of Applied Arts in Barmen, (now Wupperthal) Germany from 1916 onwards.

Frequent trips between Poland and Germany after the war. Eventually settled in Dusseldorf in the early 1920's and formed a friendship with Otto Dix who had an influence on his work. An even greater influence was Paul Klee who had a nearby studio in Dusseldorf in the early 1930's. It was probably from Klee that Adler learnt the technique of 'offset' monotype which he later passed to many young British artists after the Second World War when he settled in Britain. After the Nazi rise to power, Adler settled in Paris where he met another major influence, Pablo Picasso. He also had a short spell at Hayter's Atelier 17. Adler briefly returned to Poland between 1935-37. He joined the Polish Army of the West in 1940 and was eventually evacuated to Britain from Dunkirk, settling first in Glasgow and later in London.

In London he settled in a studio in Bedford Gardens above the 'Two Roberts' Colquhoun and MacBryde, whom he knew from Glasgow. John Minton also had a studio there and so Adler the refugee became an artistic link between the European avant-garde and a number of young British painters including Keith Vaughan, Prunella Clough, Benjamin Creme, Michael Ayrton and the playwright Dylan
Thomas. His work became widely exhibited in London galleries, mainly at the Redfern and Lefevre and is held in numerous public and private collections around the world, incuding the Tate, London and MoMA, New York.