Mayer Kirshenblatt
Born(1916-09-04)September 4, 1916
Opatów
DiedNovember 20, 2009(2009-11-20) (aged 93)
Toronto, Canada
Known forpainting

Mayer Kirshenblatt (1916–2009) was a Polish-born Canadian self-taught painter and author of Jewish origin.

Biography

Mayer Kirshenblatt was born on September 4, 1916, in Opatów (Apt in Yiddish), to a middle class Jewish family.[1] He attended a cheder and a Polish public school.[1][2] He left Poland in 1934 and settled in Toronto, Canada,[1][2] where he eventually ran a paint and wallpaper store for many years.[3][4]

In 1967, his daughter Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett began interviewing Mayer about his childhood.[1][2] In 1990,[2][4] at the urging of his wife, daughter, and son-in-law Max Gimblett, Mayer began to paint.[2] He created around 300 paintings mostly depicting the Opatów of his childhood.[1][5] In minute detail Kirshenblatt painted people at work, everyday chores, as well as Jewish and Christian holiday celebrations.[1][5] His work was first shown in Toronto, then at the Judah L. Magnes Museum, Geodesy and Cartography Museum in Opatów, The Jewish Museum (New York City), Galicia Jewish Museum (Kraków), Yiddish Book Center (Amherst), and Joods Historisch Museum (Amsterdam).[1]

In 2007, he and his daughter Barbara published They Called Me Mayer July: Painted Memories of a Jewish Childhood before the Holocaust[5] (University of California Press).[4][6] The book won the Canadian Jewish Book Award,[6] J. I. Segal Book Award,[7] and American Association of University Presses award,[4] and was a finalist in three categories for the National Jewish Book Award.

Kirshenblatt died on November 20, 2009, in Toronto.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Borzęcka, Maria. "Kirshenblatt Mayer". Virtual Shtetl. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Winkler, Stephanie (2009-05-29). "Painting a Jewish Memory Book". PBS. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  3. ↑ "They Called Me Mayer July. Painted Memories of Jewish Life In Poland Before The Holocaust". The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life. 2007-09-10. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Wróbel, Piotr (2008). "Review of They Called Me Mayer July. Painted Memories of a Jewish Childhood in Poland before the Holocaust". The Polish Review. 53 (4): 550–552. ISSN 0032-2970.
  5. 1 2 3 "Remembering Mayer Kirshenblatt, 1916-2009". UC Press Blog. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  6. 1 2 "Biography by Anna Porter among winners of Canadian Jewish Book Awards". CBC. 2008-05-28.
  7. ↑ Austin, Edie. "Leonard Cohen among winners of J.I. Segal prizes". Montreal Gazette.

Bibliography

  • Kirshenblatt, Mayer and Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett. They Called Me Mayer July: Painted Memories of a Jewish Childhood in Poland Before the Holocaust. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007.
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