An article about my great-grandfather’s art and my quest to find the lost and missing pieces has been published in today’s Times of Israel.  The piece was written by Cathryn Prince.  The piece is titled, “The quest for paintings from a lost Jewish world”

I wrote a small piece for the Museums Association Museums Journal.  The association, a membership organization for those working in museums, galleries, and heritage, aims “to enhance the value of museums to society by sharing knowledge, developing skills, inspiring innovation, and providing leadership.”  My piece appears in the 113/11 [Read more…]

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…]

Keri Douglas is a writer, photographer and storyteller. She has worked as a writer at the White House; for the Director of Voice of America; and, as the first press secretary at the Swiss Embassy in Washington, D.C.   I’m honored to share that Keri has now also written a lovely blog post about the Moshe Rynecki project on her site, 9 Muses News.  Her piece, “Lost and Found: Moshe Rynecki, Illustrator of Polish Jewish Life,” is written with passion for the story and the art.  You can also follow Keri on Twitter: @keridouglas

Click Here to view this article on the JewishAdvocate.com

A brush with the Holocaust

Moshe Rynecki lives on through his paintings
By Alexandra Lapkin
Advocate Staff

Moshe Rynecki’s paintings are keeping his memory alive, thanks to the efforts of his great-granddaughter.
Elizabeth Rynecki grew up surrounded by her great-grandfather’s paintings.

Although she had never met him, she learned about him and his life through his artwork. The scenes Moshe Rynecki painted portray a world that no longer exists: Polish Jews from the 1920s and 1930s at work, praying together in shul, women taking care of their children, and families and neighbors coming together during hours of leisure.[Read more…]