Alexander Sonnis was trained at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, UK. Born in 1904 in Kam'yanets'-Podil's'kyi, modern day Ukraine then Russian Empire, Alexander and his siblings and parents fled the region at the tender age of four, in response to the religious persecution associated with the Pogroms. Alex settled in London, attending the Central School of Arts and Crafts before later receiving a scholarship to attend the Royal Academy of Arts. Shortly after, Alex married artist and sculptor Iris Cooke of the St. Ives Cornish artist colony. Alex and his wife Iris had a son, Nicholas, in 1943. Alex passed away in Twickenham, London in 1997.