Aaron Chaimowicz, better known by his pseudonym Joseph Brauner, was born in 1890 in Berlin into a Jewish family of Austrian and Galician origin. His father was a scrap metal dealer and his mother, Miriam, was born in Galicia (present-day western Ukraine).
In 1918, he became a member of the Arbeitsrat für Kunst in Berlin and attended the Staatliches Bauhaus, where he took painting and graphic design classes from Vasili Kandinsky, Oskar Schlemmer, and Herbert Bayer. He developed a passion for small totems, objects, and collages, many of which were unfortunately lost in a fire in his Berlin studio.
A staunch anti-fascist, Chaimowicz fought in the Spanish Civil War as part of the 11th International Brigade, defending Madrid and fighting at Quinto, Teruel, and Belchite. He was awarded the Republican Order "El Distintivo del Valor" for his courageous actions. After the Republicans' defeat, he went into exile in France, where he was interned but managed to escape. He returned to Nazi Germany and continued his anti-fascist struggle underground until the end of World War II.
In the late 1940s, he emigrated to the United States to join his sister Ruth and settled in Boston in 1950. He lived there until his death in 1973, leaving behind a legacy marked by his political and artistic commitment, as well as his resilience in the face of hardship.
