Born Julius Pincas, Pascin left his Bulgarian and Romanian wealthy financier family as a teenager to travel the world and pursue an artistic career. First working and studying in Vienna, Munich and Berlin, he earned a living in these early years illustrating satirical magazines.

Settling in Paris in 1905 he habituated the Café du Dome, Montparnasse, associating with a group of Jewish-German artists, who became known as the Domiers through their exhibitions in Dusseldorf. Above all however, Pascin became a central figure in the School of Paris circle, the group of emigrant artists centred in Montmartre around Chagall, and including Picasso, Modigliani, Soutine, Foujita, Kisling and Per Krohg. This circle was to become one of the most important strands in French art between the two World Wars, independent of contemporary avant-garde movements such as Surrealism, the artists won acclaim for the their passionate commitment to their artistic vision, their spirit of certainty, verve and vigour.

With the outbreak of World War 1, Pascin left Paris for America, travelling with his wife Hermione, a famous courtesan whom he had met in 1901 as the manager of a brothel. In 1920, he was naturalised as a US citizen. Returning to Paris in 1920, Pascin embarked upon a tumultuous and ultimately disastrous affair with Lucy Vidil (the wife of Per Krohg).

Pascin’s oeuvre is dominated by the female figure. His female representation is resolutely non-idealized, allowing neither moral nor formal concerns to take control. He had a profound curiosity in the plain realities of everyday life and human nature, and he was passionate about drawing. His life was chaotic and led to a very eclectic social life, a life that led to serve his art primarily

In 1930 Pascin committed suicide. All the galleries in Paris on the day of his funeral and the whole art world; artists, dealers and models turned out to honour him The following year, major retrospective exhibitions were staged at the Downtown Gallery, New York and at the Bernhein-Jeune Gallery, Paris.