Jacob Kramer
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Jacob Kramer (26 December 1892 – 4 February 1962)[1] was a Russian Empire-born painter who spent all of his working life in England.
Early life
Jacob Kramer was born in the small town of Klintsy, then belonged to Chernihiv hubernia of traditional Ukrainian lands, in 1892, then part of the Russian Empire, into an artistic middle-class Jewish family, who moved to Saint Petersburg shortly after.[1][2] His father, Max, was a painter who had studied at the St Petersburg Fine Art Academy under Ilya Repin, and had become a court painter to Baron Günzburg. Kramer's mother, Cecilia, was also artistic being a trained singer who was well known for touring a regional network of theatres established by her father, at which she performed traditional Slavic and Hebrew folk songs.[2] He had three sisters – Leah, Sarah and Millie – and a brother, Isaak.[3] His sister Sarah married the painter William Roberts.[4]
Life in England
In the
In 1902, aged only ten, Kramer ran away from his new home in Leeds, taking various jobs in different parts of the north of England, and even going away to sea for six months, being big for his age.
Slade School of Art and early career
With a scholarship from the Jewish Educational Aid Society, Kramer was able to study at the
His first one-man show was in Bradford, and he had several exhibitions in London, as well as Glasgow and Leeds.[2] He also gained a reputation as a portrait artist in addition to his more avant-garde work.[2]
Leeds
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Kramer was called up for military service in 1917, serving for two years including in France during the March 1918 campaign.[2] On completion of military service, he returned to Leeds where he became something of a local artistic celebrity.[7] He was naturalised on 16 January 1922.[1]
After the collapse of the Leeds Arts Club in 1923 he had numerous schemes to establish a new artistic meeting place in the city, almost all of which came to nothing. The great exception to this was the informal gathering called the Yorkshire Luncheon Club, which met regularly at Whitelock's Ale House in Leeds, and invited some of the leading cultural figures of the 1930s, 40s and 50s to Leeds to speak.[2]
He became an established artist, and also taught at the Leeds School of Art.[1] As a portrait painter, his sitters included Mahatma Gandhi and Frederick Delius[1]
Kramer was commissioned to illustrate portions of the Soncino edition of the Bible and Prophets
He died 4 February 1962, unmarried and with no children, and was buried in the Jewish cemetery at
In 1968
His friend
A small selection of personal material belonging to Jacob Kramer was donated to Leeds Central Library by his sister and nephew. The collection contains exhibition catalogues (including one signed by such well-known figures as Herbert Read); books belonging to Jacob; and a selection of photographs, including many of the wider Kramer family.[8]
References
- ^ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Bernard Silver(2000) Three Jewish Giants of Leeds Jewish Historical Society of England (Leeds)
- ^ Ancestry.com, Census of England and Wales 1911. The census return also shows that a further three siblings had died before then.
- ^ Pauline Paucker, 'Sarah (1900–1992)', in William Roberts and Jacob Kramer: The Tortoise and the Hare (London: Ben Uri Gallery, 2003), pp. 35–6.
- ^ Records at ancestry.com.
- ^ "The Thoresby Society". Retrieved 17 November 2020.
- ISBN 0670889660.
- ^ "Secret Library Leeds". March 2019.
Further reading
- Ben Uri Gallery and Museum (1984) Jacob Kramer Reassessed
- Ben Uri Gallery and Museum (2003) The Tortoise and the Hare - Jacob Kramer & William Roberts
- David Manson (2006) Jacob Kramer: Creativity and Loss Sansom (Bristol)
External links
- 35 artworks by or after Jacob Kramer at the Art UK site
- 10 artworks by Jacob Kramer at the Ben Uri site
- Jacob Epstein's bust of Kramer at the Tate
- Reproductions of Kramer's work
- Archival material at Leeds University Library
- Portraits of Jacob Kramer at the National Portrait Gallery, London
- Portraits by Jacob Kramer at the National Portrait Gallery, London.