Bercovitch was born in
Kherson, Ukraine. As a boy of nine, he watched the painting of icons at the local monastery and it fascinated him. The monks gave him basic painting lessons and by age 15, he was designing sets and costumes for Kherson's Yiddish language theatre groups. In 1907, He went to Jerusalem to study at the
Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts, then returned to Kerson in 1910 and that year moved to
St Petersburg to attend the Bakst-Dobujinsky school. In 1911 Bercovitch won a Dr. Nathan Strauss Scholarship to study in Munich at the
Munich Academy of Fine Arts. His principal instructor there was Franz von Stuck but he was most influenced by
Lovis Corinth with whom he studied briefly. The
First World War interrupted his studies. He was conscripted, deserted and went into hiding for 3 years. In 1915, he married Russian revolutionary Bryna Avrutick. In 1917, he worked as a set designer for the Odessa Opera House. He also met and married Baila V’Dovitz and fathered a son. In the fall of 1920 Bercovitch left his wife and son and went to
Moscow. He worked an assistant to Ignaty Nivinsky, the set designer for the Habima, a Jewish theatre associated with the Moscow Art Theatre. and at the Independent Art Association in 1932. He had a solo exhibition of his work held at the seminary at
Joliette in 1945. The Jewish Public Library Archives has the fonds for the Robert Adams Collection which includes transcripts of interviews with Bercovitch. == Selected public collections ==