Walter Bondy was born in Prague and raised in Vienna; he studied in Vienna, Berlin, Munich and Paris. Bondy was multi-talented and worked not only as a painter, but also as a literary critic, art magazine editor, writer, and photographer. He was also an art collecter.
From 1903 to 1914 he lived in Paris, where he studied at the Art Academy Holosoi. In Paris he was a member of the artistic and intellectual circle around the "Café du Dôme". His own artwork of that time was inspired not only by the impressionists, but also by Van Gogh, Cezanne and Matisse. At the outbreak of World War I Bondy moved back to Berlin, where he founded an art magazine which he maintained until 1930. The rise of the Nazis soon brought an end to his plans. In 1932 he left Berlin to move to Switzerland and then to Sanary-sur-Mer in southern France. Bondy knew Sanary-sur-Mer from earlier visits and many intellectuals (such as the Mann family and others) lived in Sanary during the war.
Meanwhile two art dealers, Paul and Bruno Cassirer, took care of Bondy's apartment, art collection, and paintings in Berlin. When the political situation worsened in 1934 the Cassirers organized the transportation of Bondy's belongings to Vienna, where Bondy's father owned "Kabelwerk", a large factory which is now a cultural site with lofts and appartments. In 1938 the Kabelwerk fell into the hands of the Nazis and all of Bondys paintings were then lost. Even today his works are rarely found on the art market.
Bondy spent the last years of his life as a photographer in Toulon, where he and his young French wife owned a studio. Bondy in Toulon in 1940.
To read and learn more about Walter Bondy, please consult the article about him in this book: "Das flüchtige Paradies: Künstler an der Côte d´Azur". Manfred Flügge, 2008.
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