Gabriel Spat was born in Kishinev, Russia in 1890. After World War I, he lived in Paris, where he frequented the studios of La Ruche, Soutine, and Modigliani. Spat spent most of his career in France, painting small figurative works in oils and watercolors, as well as scenes of leisure in places such as racetracks, parks, and beaches. He immigrated to the United States in 1945, where he settled in New York City. The following year, the Carroll Carstairs Gallery in New York City. Several other gallery exhibitions followed, both in the United States and in Paris.