Born in Vitebsk, Russian-born French painter Marc Chagall often joined folklore and fantasy with memories of Russian-Jewish villages of the late 1800s. Chagall fled to France in 1923 to avoid persecution as a Jew, moving temporarily to New York City during World War II (1939-1945). Although he returned to France following the war, his stay in the United States had a profound influence on young American painters. During his life he painted more or less recognizable objects in unusual positions and floating rather insecurely in space, his color was very rich and most of his subjects were poetic evocations of Russian village life, but he came increasingly to paint religious pictures. His fantasies have greatly influenced the Surrealists.