He was a Paris-born artist, illustrator, painter, and muralist. He attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts at Sorbonne and studied under Bernard Corman and Lucien Simon. From 1932 to 1935, he traveled  to New York City to pursue his art. 

Antoine de Saint-Exupery met Lamotte in art school in France. They became great friends.  He worked on Le Petit Prince at the Lamotte residence in New York City. He also created the illustrations for Flight to Arras by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. 

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Bernard died in 1983 at age 80 from complications from surgery at St. Luke’s Hospital in Manhattan.