Artist, born in Berlin, Germany, as Siegfried Alweiss, to Austrian parents. At his Jewish school his art master, Otto Geismar, gave encouragement. After a poor academic start, in 1919 he entered Kern’s Konservatorium to prepare for the State Academy to become a professional musician, but left the Academy to take over his father’s raincoat factory. When it closed, he turned to commercial art for a living and in 1925 went to life classes run by the Freie Secession, signing his work Alva. In Paris in 1928 Alva attended the Atelier Colarossi, sold work and then between 1929–32 travelled through France, Switzerland and Italy. After selling works at Salon d’Automne in Paris in 1933, in 1934 travelled in Palestine, Syria and Greece, having a first solo show at Maskit Gallery, Tel-Aviv.