Early Life and Career Mark Gertler (born Marks Gertler; December 9, 1891 – June 23, 1939) was a British painter of figure subjects, portraits, and still-life. He was born to poor Polish-Jewish immigrant parents and spoke only Yiddish up to the age of 8. In 1906 he enrolled in art classes at Regent Street Polytechnic but was forced to drop out due to poverty. His early talent for drawing quickly became apparent, inspiring Gilbert Cannan’s novel Mendel. Gertler's forename was anglicised from "marks" to "mark" in 1896 when his family joined his father in London. He attended evening classes at Re…