Search for lost pre-WWII art bears fruit in Toronto – CJN story

October 30, 2013 by

On  30 October 2013, Canadian Jewish News ran an article about my visit to the University of Toronto, “Search for lost pre-WWII art bears fruit in Toronto.”  The piece was written by Fern Smiley.  Here is a transcript of the article.  Below please find all three images that appeared in the print version of the story.

Elizabeth Rynecki has always wondered what the watercolour, Prayer, painted by her great grandfather, Moshe Rynecki, looked like in its entirety. At a talk she gave earlier this month at the University of Toronto’s Centre for Jewish Studies, titled “Chasing Portraits: a Great-Granddaughter’s Search for her Lost Art Legacy,” she displayed a slide of the watercolour.

The intense energy of the congregants praying the Shema in the soulful painting abruptly halts on two opposite corners. One third of her image was missing, twice diagonally slashed as if amputated to save the rest.[Read more…]

Filed Under: In the News

Polish Letters from Moshe Rynecki to Otto Schneid

October 29, 2013 by

In the Otto Schneid papers at the University of Toronto’s Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, there are two handwritten Moshe Rynecki letters. The reason Schneid had these letters isn’t so terribly complicated. The story is that Schneid, himself an artist and historian, was writing a book in the 1930s on Jewish artists. In the course of his research he contacted various artists, including my great-grandfather, and requested an autobiography and photos of artwork for potential inclusion in his book. Although Schneid’s book was never published (the Nazis halted the printing of it) and a later version written in Hebrew while he was living in Israel was never published either, Schneid apparently held onto the letters my great-grandfather wrote him anyway. Schneid died in 1974. In 2002 his widow, Miriam, donated the unpublished manuscripts and background materials to the Fisher Library.

Before my visit to the Fisher Library I had never before seen my great-grandfather’s handwriting. Discovering the existence of the letters is really very important. Not only was Schneid interested enough in Moshe’s work to solicit photographs and an autobiography from him, but despite all the turmoil in his own life, he held onto them for 40-plus years and then his wife held onto them for another 28 years before donating them to the Fisher[Read more…]

Filed Under: Search for Rynecki paintings

Chasing Portraits in Toronto – Finding Moshe Rynecki Story Fragments in Canada

October 28, 2013 by

In the spring of last year I was asked to give a talk at congregation Bet Haverim in Davis, California.  I didn’t have a talk prepared, but my academic background is in rhetoric, and I taught public speaking in graduate school, so I didn’t think it would be too difficult to put something together, and I accepted the offer. The audience of about a hundred was really supportive and enthusiastic.  I loved the experience of speaking in front of a crowd.  Often on this journey I feel all alone, so it was really energizing to share my story with a caring crowd.  The chance to tell more people about the paintings along with the warm reaction made me think additional talks would be worthwhile. So when planning our subsequent family vacation to Boston, I got in touch with Boston3G, a group of grandchildren of Holocaust survivors, and asked if I could give my talk to their group.  They said they’d be happy to have me.  The crowd in Boston was smaller than the one in Davis, but they were also hugely supportive.  Given that I had told them I was headed to Toronto in the fall to film an interview with a man who had four Moshe Rynecki paintings in his home, a number of audience members suggested I give my talk at the University of Toronto.

Thinking it was a longshot, I reached out to the University of Toronto’s Center for Jewish Studies and explained my talk and my reason for travelling to Toronto.  They must have thought I was half crazy for asking for an [Read more…]

Filed Under: Speaking Engagements

Three Articles on Holocaust Era Looted Art and Restitution Issues

September 3, 2013 by

If you’re interested in learning more about the issues of Holocaust era looted art, these three articles are very much worth reading. They give a good overview, several specific examples, and informed insight into many of the issues on the subject.[Read more…]

Filed Under: Book Reviews

Haunted by Lithuanian History: A book review of a journal, memoir, and young adult novel

September 2, 2013 by

A number of years ago my father gave me The Last Days of the Jerusalem of Lithuania: Chronicles from the Vilna Ghetto and the Camps, 1939-1944, an imposing 700 page work containing the journals, writings, and poems of Herman Kruk, who chronicled his time in the Vilna Ghetto before he was deported and murdered in an Estonian camp. The book haunted me from the moment I opened it; the initial poems are an eloquent testament to Kruk’s desire to bear witness for future generations:

I know I am condemned and awaiting my turn,
Although deep inside me burrows a hope for a miracle.
Drunk on the pen trembling in my hand,
I record everything for future generations:[Read more…]

Filed Under: Book Reviews

Getting Out of the Warsaw Ghetto

August 11, 2013 by

Google Books has helped me to find all sorts of references to my family. I have used it to find books with my great-grandfather’s paintings as well as essays and commentaries about his work.  I once found a book, Ten jest z ojczyzny mojej (He is of/from my Fatherland), with information at the back of the book citing data obtained from another source.  The original source was, I believe, some sort of questionnaire on assistance to the Jews of Warsaw.  What I found on page 1029 of this book, just one sentence, really, was this:[Read more…]

Filed Under: War Memories

Speaking Schedule

August 7, 2013 by

Upcoming talks of, “Chasing Portraits: A great-granddaughter’s search for her lost art legacy.”  A description of the talk is below the dates.

 

Upcoming Talks

9 September 2014 – Art Table – San Francisco.

14 September 2014: Temple Beth El – Eureka, California.  

8 January 2015: Jewish Community Library – San Francisco.

23 January 2015 (7-9pm): Sausalito Woman’s Club – Sausalito, California.

CHASING PORTRAITS – A Detective Story:  Sausalito native, Elizabeth Rynecki relates her fascinating, years-long quest to locate the art of her great-grandfather, Moshe Rynecki (1881-1943), most of which was lost, looted, or destroyed during the German occupation of Warsaw during WW II.  Painted primarily during the inter-war years, Moshe Rynecki’s existing portraits depict the vibrant Jewish life and culture of the time.  No charge.  Light hors d’oeuvres and no host bar. Co-chairs: Leslie Hail and Paula Fancher

Previous Talks:

Davis, California – Congregation Bet Haverim in Davis

Boston, Massachusetts – Boston 3G

Sacramento, California – Jewish Genealogical Society of Sacramento

Toronto, Canada – University of Toronto’s Center for Jewish Studies

University of Nebraska, Omaha – Holocaust education class

Omaha, Nebraska – The Kaneko (a public non-profit cultural organization in the Old Market District)

Oregon Jewish Museum at Havurah Shalom

San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society

 

[Read more…]

Filed Under: **Scheduled Talks**

Seeking donations for Chasing Portraits documentary film project

July 31, 2013 by

A DONATION REQUEST

I work on the Moshe Rynecki project because I’m passionate about my great-grandfather’s artwork and because I want to share the story with others.

One component of the project is the documentary film. This is a really big – no, huge – project, and very expensive. My time on the project comes free, but I have to pay for things like film crews, sound people, cameras, hard drives, transcription of interviews, film editors, and travel expenses (and that’s just the short list of items!).[Read more…]

Filed Under: Documentary Film

Pondering Holocaust Art Restitution

July 30, 2013 by
Some thoughts on Landscape with Smokestacks: The Case of the Allegedly Plundered Degas

When I first began thinking about how I might share my great-grandfather’s works with others, I focused on the paintings themselves. I hoped the subjects and scenes he painted would excite viewers. I longed for others to be inspired by the idea that his paintings captured a world and way of life destroyed in the Holocaust. People were almost always interested and generous with comments about his talent, but it never went much deeper and I was always left wondering how to better engage or enable emotional investment in the art. What I discovered is that people like a good tale, so they are particularly drawn to the behind-the-scenes stories regarding my relationships with museums and individuals who possess my great-grandfather’s paintings. The added context and layering of narrative draws people in much more than would just seeing works of art.

Although I am not an attorney, I am fascinated by the issues of Holocaust era art litigation. While I have spoken with attorneys and legal scholars about my own case, I have no personal experience in this area, because my [Read more…]

Filed Under: Book Reviews

Appreciating Jewish Art: A personal, family tale

July 15, 2013 by

Jewish Art Education is an organization “dedicated to bringing the best in the Jewish visual arts to the widest possible audience. Our mission is to educate the wider world on the contributions of the visual arts to Jewish civilization.”  Earlier this year I was invited to write a guest blog for them about the Moshe Rynecki project.  I did that in a piece titled, “A Window to the Past.” 

More recently I was asked to write a piece about the importance and value of teaching, studying, and appreciating Jewish art.  My new piece is now on their site, or you can read it here:

Appreciating Jewish Art: A personal, family tale
(Guest blog written for Jewish Art Education site. July 2013)

On my desk is a photograph of a self-portrait of my great-grandfather, dated 1931. I’ve propped it up next to my screen so that when I take a break from typing and look over at it, he’s looking back at me. When I look at him, I imagine him asking, “What are you doing?”  It’s a question I frequently ask myself; the answer sometimes eludes me. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Jewish Art History
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