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.