The Polish-born painter Jennings Tofel (b. Idel Talflewicz) immigrated in 1905 to New York City, where he first began to study art. From 1925 to 1930, he lived mostly in Europe, studying and exhibiting. He returned permanently to New York in 1930. He contributed essays on art, language, and philosophy to the Yiddish- and English-language press. Jewish themes occupy a prominent place in his work.
One of the more bitter days of my life that I will never ever forget is the 17th Adar 5677 [11 March 1917] at dawn when I was already being sought [the authorities had already dogged my footsteps and…
For three years, Lamm was imprisoned in the Gulag (the Soviet system of labor camps) for applying for an exit visa, and he documented this experience in drawings and paintings. The red banner on the…
Even after the mourning period was over, when the flat was finally empty and my father and I locked the door and were alone together, we hardly talked to one another. Except about the most essential…