www.jewsfww.london

Life in Pictures: Understanding Jewish London and its Impact on British Art in the early years of the 20th century

The year 1890 was important for London. The world’s first electric tube railway was opened, now part of London’s Northern Line. Amongst many other events it was also around 1890 that a group of Jewish children were born, who became important artists. They had a large and long lasting impact on British art in the Twentieth Century and each have interesting stories. This introduction and related pen portraits will let us explore these stories through their art and the world in which they grew up. The artists’ world was the Jewish , where many immigrants had settled as refugees from persecution in Russia and eastern Europe. This hatred was prompted by intolerance of the Jewish religion and customs and as today, those who look different or dress differently with different customs are an easy target. In Britain, they enjoyed the freedom to continue to continue their lives and in many cases dressed differently to most Londoners and spoke a language called Yiddish to each other alongside learning English. Like the vast majority of migrants to Britain they worked hard to create a world where they contributed to their and the society that welcomed them and created an environment where their children could succeed.

‘Sabbath Afternoon’ (c.1909-10) by Alfred A. Wolmark (1877-1961) Oil on canvas

1 www.jewsfww.london

These children included and Isaac Rosenberg, who were both born in 1890. Their friend Mark Gertler was born in 1891, as was Bernard Meninsky. Clare Winsten (originally Clara Birnberg) and Jacob Kramer were both born in 1892. They were all Jewish, most lived in London and they all went to the same Art School – the in London. They shared a common background and a love of art, but there were differences in how they came to London, which can help us understand more about them.

‘Rabbi and Rabbitzin’ (1914) by Mark Gertler (1891-1939) Watercolour and pencil on paper

2 www.jewsfww.london

Mark Gertler was born in London’s East End and his parents were Jewish immigrants from Austria. He grew up within a distinctive Jewish community, most of whom were migrants or children of migrants. David Bomberg was born in Birmingham of Polish-Jewish parents and Isaac Rosenberg was born in Bristol, his parents being Lithuanian Jews. Both sets of parents soon moved their families to London for work and settled in the Jewish East End. As Mark, David and Isaac were born in , they were called second generation migrants.

‘Portrait of a Girl (Sophie, the artist’s sister) (c.1908–11) by Mark Gertler (1891-1939) Oil on canvas

Clare Winsten, Bernard Meninsky and Jacob Kramer were child migrants, as they were all born abroad and brought to Britain as their parents fled persecution. Clare is thought to have been born in Romania, her family having stayed there for a while

3 www.jewsfww.london

on their journey from Galicia (now part of Ukraine). The uncertainty over the location of her birth is due to a lack of official records from this period, this being a common feature of the life of refugees, then and unfortunately also today. Following a route familiar to many modern refugees, the Birnberg family travelled through Germany before settling in the midst of London’s Jewish community in the East End. Bernard Meninsky and Jacob Kramer were born in Ukraine, both being brought to Britain as boys. Bernard came to Liverpool and Jacob to . Whilst Bernard was very young when he came to Britain, Clare and Jacob had known lives elsewhere and would remember these throughout their lives. This was different to the other boys who only heard of their parents’ original home through stories.

‘Two Women and Child’ (1913) by Bernard Meninsky (1891-1950) Coloured pencil on paper

4 www.jewsfww.london

Bernard went to art school in Liverpool and also studied art in Paris, before returning to England to attend the Slade School of Fine Art. Once he started working, Bernard continued to move around, teaching art in Italy, serving in Europe with the British Army and later teaching art in Oxford and London. Jacob Kramer moved around less, spending most of his life in Yorkshire. However, Jacob lived in London whilst attending the Slade School of Fine Art. He then stayed on for a number of years afterwards, as London was the centre of the English art world, before returning to Leeds. As these five children grew up, their love of art also grew, but they were from very poor backgrounds at a time when most education had to be paid for. If they were to become artists, they needed to go to art school, but their parents could not afford the fees. Clare Winsten gained a scholarship from the London County Council to help her study art. After attending the Royal Female School of Art, she transferred to the Slade School of Fine Art, where she met David Bomberg, Mark Gertler and Isaac Rosenberg. Young Jewish writers such as Clare’s husband to-be, Samuel Weinstein (later Stephen Winsten), John Rodker and Joseph Leftwich also moved in the same circles as their artist friends.

5 www.jewsfww.london

‘Landscape’ by Clare Winsten (1892-1984) Oil on canvas

6 www.jewsfww.london

‘Portrait of Joseph Leftwich’ (1919) by Clare Winsten (1892-1984) Oil on canvas

These boys, and also Bernard Meninsky and Jacob Kramer, now grown into young men, received grants from a charity called ‘the Jewish Education Aid Society’ to enable them attend art school. This society had been set up in 1896, to help Jewish children with great talent to receive a good education when their families could not afford to provide this. Grants were given to support children studying science, music, general subjects & literature, as well as art.

7 www.jewsfww.london

The Jewish Education Aid Society (known by the initials JEAS) was important both for the growing Jewish immigrant community, but also as a result for the development of 20th Century British art. Funds from the JEAS helped many others including Mark Gertler. This encouraged them to step beyond the social boundaries of their backgrounds in the East End (and for Bernard Meninsky and Jacob Kramer, provincial Lancashire and Yorkshire) and to use their talents and interests to further themselves in the art world.

‘At the Window’ (1919) by David Bomberg (1890-1957) Oil on canvas

8 www.jewsfww.london

Some of the subjects for their art reflected their Jewish backgrounds, such as ‘Ghetto Theatre’ by David Bomberg (1920) and ‘The Day of Atonement’ by Jacob Kramer (1919). However, the artists’ painting techniques often embraced aspects of the emerging art movement ‘Modernism’. They helped British art develop in this regard and it was JEAS that facilitated the nurturing of their talent.

‘Ghetto Theatre’ (1920) by David Bomberg (1890 – 1957), oil on canvas

Ben Uri by its very presence and core objectives also nurtured Jewish artistic talent, by providing a focal point for artistic and cultural discussion and through exhibitions.

9 www.jewsfww.london

Founded in 1915 by émigré artist Lazar Berson as an Art Society, it provided financial assistance to a number of artists from its limited resources, including David Bomberg and Jacob Kramer. Over time, Ben Uri ensured that the contribution of Jewish artists received due attention, including David and Jacob and also Mark Gertler, Bernard Meninsky, Isaac Rosenberg and Clare Winsten. Lazar was slightly older than David and the others, having been born in 1882, in Lithuania. He had moved from his home in Lithuania to France in the years preceding the First World War and arrived in England in 1914 as part of the refugee movement from northern France and Belgium. He had a different set of experiences to those of David and friends. Lazar was committed to promoting Jewish art and his decorative work inspired the first Ben Uri logo. He left London in 1916 for the (then) neutral U.S.A. and died in France. Ben Uri is now in its second millennium and has dynamic collection, exhibition, education and wellbeing programmes focussing through art on identity and migration in the cntre of London’s mainstream museum sector. You can find out more at www.benuri.org

10 www.jewsfww.london

\

’Circular Design for Ben Uri Art Society’ (c.1915), by Lazar Berson (1882-1954) Coloured inks on paper

Ben Uri was founded during the second year of the First World War and this conflict was to have a major impact on all communities in London, including the Jewish East End. Mark Gertler and his friends from the Slade School of Art were all of an age to directly serve in the front-line or (in the case of Clare Winsten) on the home front. Isaac Rosenberg enlisted in the army in 1915 and served in France, where he was killed in 1918. David Bomberg also enlisted in 1915, but he suffered a self-inflicted wound and was put on light duties, before undertaking support duties at the front line. He was later asked to produce some war art. Bernard Meninsky also became a war artist, having previously been a non-combatant, like Jacob Kramer, who was only enlisted right at the end of the War as he was considered a friendly ‘alien’ on account of his Russian birth. They had both been born in Ukraine (then part of Britain’s ally, Russia). Mark Gertler’s parents were from Austria and he was also

11 www.jewsfww.london

initially turned down for military service. When re-considered for service, he was declared ‘medically unfit’.

‘Self-Portrait in Steel Helmet’ (1916) by Isaac Rosenberg (1890 – 1918), Black chalk, gouache and wash on paper

These artists (including Isaac Rosenberg) were often pacifists at heart. Clare Winsten was particularly troubled as her husband Stephen Winsten (originally Simy or Samuel Weinstein (1893 – 1991) was a Conscientious Objector and refused to join the army. He was imprisoned and Clare worked to support him and the cause of pacifism.

12 www.jewsfww.london

‘Portrait of Sonia’ (1915) by Isaac Rosenberg (1890-1918) Oil on canvas Not all Jewish artists rejected war service or doubted its need and some were involved with the JEAS as advisers and mentors to younger artists. Their age meant that they did not see front-line service, but their work was important. Solomon J Solomon (1860 – 1927) became a leading expert on the use of camouflage by the army. William Rothenstein (1872 – 1945) was famous for his portraits of people and for being a war artist in both World War One and World War Two. This involved him recording scenes to give an impression of wartime life and activities, without the security risks posed by photography.

13 www.jewsfww.london

‘Talmudic Discussion’ (c.1905) by Sir William Rothenstein (1872-1945) Pencil on paper

Solomon J. Solomon (SJS) and William Rothenstein represented another strand of Jewish society in London and elsewhere: established Anglo-Jewry. Since 1656, when Jewish people had been re-admitted to England (following their expulsion in 1290) great care had been taken not to alienate non-Jews. After two hundred years, Anglo-Jewry had finally achieved a degree of acceptance within wider society, as illustrated by SJS being only the second Jew to be elected to the Royal Academy and William receiving a Knighthood and becoming Principal of the .

14 www.jewsfww.london

‘The Breakfast Table’ (1921) by Solomon J. Solomon (1860-1927) Oil on canvas The arrival of large numbers of migrants from Eastern Europe from 1880 onwards threatened to upset Anglo-Jewry’s hard won acceptance. These new refugees were often destitute and most were Yiddish speaking Jews with traditional continental religious practices, folklore and customs. Just as wider British society had to learn to

15 www.jewsfww.london

accept these new arrivals, established Anglo-Jewry also had to adjust to the fact that it was no longer the only part of Jewish life in Britain.

‘Design for a Programme (Pioneers)’ (c.1920) by Jacob Kramer (1892-1962) Charcoal, gouache and pencil on paper

One practical response by Anglo-Jewry was to encourage the new arrivals to become more ‘English’ through the process of education. The JEAS support for young artists was one way of achieving this and SJS and William Rothenstein would have been aware of this strategy. William Rothenstein was a strong supporter of

16 www.jewsfww.london

Mark Gertler’s art, showing that established Anglo-Jewry at its most senior level and the new migrant populations could find common ground. An earlier example of such ‘common ground’ arose when Alfred A. Wolmark enrolled at the Royal Academy, one of his teachers there being SJS. Alfred provides a bridge between established Anglo-Jewry and eastern European Jews. He was born in 1877 in Poland and was brought to England in 1883. He grew up in the East End of London, but being older than Mark Gertler and friends he had been educated and was an established artist by the time they were attending the Slade School of Fine Art. He was considered unfit for military duty during the First World War. Although he did not become an official war artist, he did produce war related work. Alfred painted a number of celebrated Jewish themed works particularly in his early career, as well as portraits of some of his Jewish patrons, and he was regarded as one of the pioneers of British modernism. As a major figure in Ben Uri, he was familiar with the work of Mark and friends and, through the Art Society, provided support when possible.

‘Self-Portrait’ (1902) by Alfred Wolmark (1877-1961) Oil on canvas on board

17 www.jewsfww.london

‘Portrait of Mrs. Ethel Solomon in Riding Habit’ (1909) by Alfred Wolmark (1877-1961) Oil on canvas

In the years after the First World War, Jewish artists continued their individual developments. Mark Gertler suffered periods of ill-health. He supplemented income from creating art by teaching, as did David Bomberg and Jacob Kramer. Clare Winsten continued her work for pacifism with her husband Stephen. Wolmark worked for Jewish artists and culture through Ben Uri, alongside SJS. However, SJS and William Rothenstein also maintained a presence within the Anglo-Jewish and wider establishment, William returning to duty as a war artist in World War Two. Now in its second century, Ben Uri continues to celebrate and promote the legacy of these and other Jewish artists through exhibitions and publications within the secular mainstream peer groups and contemporaneous artistic context. The accompanying pen portraits are based on the holdings of Ben Uri for the period 1900 – 1925. They consider artists mentioned in this introduction plus many others. Together, they permit a closer engagement with the artworks, the artists and the Jewish community in the East End in the early Twentieth Century.

18 www.jewsfww.london

Biographical Details Born: Died: Family Origin

Date Place Date Place Lazar Berson 1882 Lithuania 1954 France Lithuania Clara Birnberg / Clare Winsten 1892 Romania 1989 Britain Galicia (Ukraine) David Bomberg 1890 Birmingham 1957 London Poland Mark Gertler 1891 London 1939 London Austria Jacob Kramer 1892 Ukraine 1962 Leeds Ukraine Bernard Meninsky 1891 Ukraine 1950 London Ukraine Isaac Rosenberg 1890 Bristol 1918 France Lithuania William Rothenstein 1872 Yorkshire 1945 Gloucestershire Germany Solomon J. Solomon 1860 London 1927 Kent Britain Simon Weinstein / Stephen Winsten 1893 Britain 1991 Britain Russia

Alfred A. Wolmark 1877 Poland 1961 London Poland Further Reading Ben Uri ‘The Ben Uri Story from Art Society to Museum’ (2001) Ben Uri ‘Rediscovering Wolmark: a pioneer of British Modernism’ (2004) Ben Uri ‘Whitechapel at War: Isaac Rosenberg and his Circle’ (2008)

For more information visit the Ben Uri website. Jim Ranahan 22/08/2016

19