Lionel S. Reiss
Encyclopedia
Lionel S. Reiss, was a Polish-American Jewish painter born in Jaroslaw
, Poland
, and grew up on the Lower East Side
of Manhattan
where he studied commercial art
. His family had moved to the United States
in 1898 when he was four years old. As immigrants to the United States, Reiss’ parents joined the ranks of other Eastern European Jews who were fleeing their native countries at the turn of the 20th century. Lionel Reiss' family settled on New York’s Lower East Side
neighborhood and Reiss himself spent the majority of his life in the city. Reiss worked as a commercial artist for newspapers, publishers, and a motion picture company. Eventually he became art director for Paramount Studios and is credited to be the creator of the Leo the Lion
logo of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Studios.
Reiss became known for his portraits of Jewish people and landmarks in Jewish history
, which he made during his trip to Europe
, Africa
, and the Middle East
in the early 1920s
. Being American and Jewish himself, Reiss became fascinated with Jewish life in the Old World. In 1919 Reiss temporarily left the United States to travel to the aforementioned regions, and recorded the everyday life that he encountered in the ghettos. His trip resulted in exhibitions in major American cities http://findingaids.cjh.org/index2.php?fnm=LionelSReiss&pnm=YIVO.
At the dawn of the Holocaust in 1938, Reiss, who had long returned to the United States
, published his book "My Models Were Jews," in which he illustratively argued that there is no such thing as a "Jewish ethnicity," but the Jewish people are rather a cultural group, whereby there is significant diversity within Jewish communities and between different communities in different geographical regions. Reiss was therefore presenting an argument against what he considered to be a common misconception that existed about the Jews. Later works included a 1954 book, "New Lights and Old Shadows," dealt with "the new lights" of a reborn Israel and the "old shadows" of an almost eradicated European Jewish culture. In his last book, "A World of Twilight", published in 1972, with text by Isaac Bashevis Singer
, Reiss presented a portrait of the Jewish communities in Eastern Europe
before the Holocaust http://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/20/obituaries/l-s-reiss-dies-at-94-painter-of-jewish-life.html.
Today Reiss' art has been collected by many institutions, including the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
, the Smithsonian Institution
, and the Tel Aviv Museum of Art
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0017_0_16626.html.
Jaroslaw
Jarosław is a town in south-eastern Poland, with 40,167 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009. Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship , previously in Przemyśl Voivodeship . It is the capital of Jarosław County.-History:...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, and grew up on the Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
where he studied commercial art
Commercial art
Commercial art is historically a subsector of creative services, referring to art created for commercial purposes, primarily advertising. The term has become increasingly anachronistic in favor of more contemporary terms such as graphic design and advertising art.Commercial art traditionally...
. His family had moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1898 when he was four years old. As immigrants to the United States, Reiss’ parents joined the ranks of other Eastern European Jews who were fleeing their native countries at the turn of the 20th century. Lionel Reiss' family settled on New York’s Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
neighborhood and Reiss himself spent the majority of his life in the city. Reiss worked as a commercial artist for newspapers, publishers, and a motion picture company. Eventually he became art director for Paramount Studios and is credited to be the creator of the Leo the Lion
Leo the Lion
Leo the Lion may refer to:* Leo the Lion , the mascot of Hollywood film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer* Leo the Lion , an anime series by Osamu Tezuka; the sequel to Kimba the White Lion...
logo of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
Studios.
Reiss became known for his portraits of Jewish people and landmarks in Jewish history
Jewish history
Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their religion and culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Since Jewish history is over 4000 years long and includes hundreds of different populations, any treatment can only be provided in broad strokes...
, which he made during his trip to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
in the early 1920s
1920s
File:1920s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Third Tipperary Brigade Flying Column No. 2 under Sean Hogan during the Irish Civil War; Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol in accordance to the 18th amendment, which made alcoholic beverages illegal throughout the entire decade; In...
. Being American and Jewish himself, Reiss became fascinated with Jewish life in the Old World. In 1919 Reiss temporarily left the United States to travel to the aforementioned regions, and recorded the everyday life that he encountered in the ghettos. His trip resulted in exhibitions in major American cities http://findingaids.cjh.org/index2.php?fnm=LionelSReiss&pnm=YIVO.
At the dawn of the Holocaust in 1938, Reiss, who had long returned to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, published his book "My Models Were Jews," in which he illustratively argued that there is no such thing as a "Jewish ethnicity," but the Jewish people are rather a cultural group, whereby there is significant diversity within Jewish communities and between different communities in different geographical regions. Reiss was therefore presenting an argument against what he considered to be a common misconception that existed about the Jews. Later works included a 1954 book, "New Lights and Old Shadows," dealt with "the new lights" of a reborn Israel and the "old shadows" of an almost eradicated European Jewish culture. In his last book, "A World of Twilight", published in 1972, with text by Isaac Bashevis Singer
Isaac Bashevis Singer
Isaac Bashevis Singer – July 24, 1991) was a Polish Jewish American author noted for his short stories. He was one of the leading figures in the Yiddish literary movement, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978...
, Reiss presented a portrait of the Jewish communities in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
before the Holocaust http://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/20/obituaries/l-s-reiss-dies-at-94-painter-of-jewish-life.html.
Today Reiss' art has been collected by many institutions, including the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.JTS operates five schools: Albert A...
, the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
, and the Tel Aviv Museum of Art
Tel Aviv Museum of Art
The Tel Aviv Museum of Art is an art museum in Tel Aviv, Israel. It was established in 1932 in a building that was the home of Tel Aviv's first mayor, Meir Dizengoff. The Helena Rubinstein Pavilion for Contemporary Art opened in 1959. The museum moved to its current location on King Saul Avenue in...
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0017_0_16626.html.