Leon Israel
Leon Israel | |
|---|---|
 Portrait from a 1955 obituary | |
| Born | December 12, 1887 Pinsk, Russian Empire |
| Died | January 12, 1955 (aged 67) New York City, United States |
Leon Israel (Yiddish: לעאָן איזראַעל; 1887–1955), known under the pseudonym "Lola" (לאָלאַ),[1] was a Jewish-American artist. Born and raised in Pinsk, he immigrated to the United States in 1905. He worked there as a famous cartoonist and painter.
Early life
[edit]Leon Israel was born on December 12, 1887 in Pinsk in the Russian Empire,[2][3][4] modern-day Belarus. He was educated both in religious schools as well as a Russian school.[2] He came to the United States in 1905,[2][3][4] when he was 18.
Career
[edit]In 1909 Israel published his first caricature, that of Jacob Gordin, for the weekly magazine Der groyser kundes under his pseudonym "Lola".[2][3] He also illustrated various Yiddish books, and in 1953 he published a picturebook, Di amoliker ist said in bilder (The East Side of Yesteryear in Pictures), which depicts immigrants in Manhattan during the early 20th century.[2][3][4]
Legacy
[edit]After his death in 1955, The New York Times produced an obituary of Israel.[3] He was cited by future Jewish-American artist Eli Valley as an influence.[5] The 2020 book How Yiddish Changed America and How America Changed Yiddish, an anthology of American Yiddish literature, describes Israel as a "prolific and talented cartoonist".[6]
Gallery
[edit]-
!["Open for Business – Help Wanted!": A caricature of factory-owners after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, 1911[7]](//up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/%22Open_for_Business_%E2%80%93_Help_Wanted%21%22_cartoon_by_Leon_Israel%2C_1911.jpg/72px-%22Open_for_Business_%E2%80%93_Help_Wanted%21%22_cartoon_by_Leon_Israel%2C_1911.jpg)
"Open for Business – Help Wanted!": A caricature of factory-owners after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, 1911[7] -
![Lady Peace tries to pull the United States away from the saloon of the war god Mars, an allegory for the World War I, 1915[6]](//up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/%22The_Bitter_Drop%22_by_Leon_Israel%2C_1915.png/120px-%22The_Bitter_Drop%22_by_Leon_Israel%2C_1915.png)
Lady Peace tries to pull the United States away from the saloon of the war god Mars, an allegory for the World War I, 1915[6] -
A Jewish father mourns his sons after World War I, 1918. -
Illustration of the Jewish parable of "The Four Sons", 1920
!["Open for Business – Help Wanted!": A caricature of factory-owners after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, 1911[7]](/wiki/File:%22Open_for_Business_%E2%80%93_Help_Wanted!%22_cartoon_by_Leon_Israel,_1911.jpg)
![Lady Peace tries to pull the United States away from the saloon of the war god Mars, an allegory for the World War I, 1915[6]](/wiki/File:%22The_Bitter_Drop%22_by_Leon_Israel,_1915.png)
References
[edit]- ^ "לעאָן איזראעל (לאָלאַ), באַרימטער קינסטלער און „פֿאָרווערטס" קארטוניסט, געשטאָרבען". The Forward (in Yiddish). 1955-01-13. Retrieved 2025-01-24 – via National Library of Israel.
- ^ a b c d e Fogel, Joshua (1956). "Izrael, Leon". Leksikon Fun Der Nayer Yidisher Literatur. Vol. 1. Congress for Jewish Culture. Retrieved 2025-01-24.
- ^ a b c d e "LEON ISRAEL DIES; I CARTOONIST WAS 6'7". The New York Times. 1955-01-13. Retrieved 2025-01-24 – via The New York Times Archives.
- ^ a b c "Leon Israel, Jewish Artist and Cartoonist. Dies; Was 67". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 1955-01-13. Retrieved 2025-01-24.
- ^ Lambert, Josh (2022-05-08). "The Jewish Influences of Eli Valley's Visceral Political Cartoons". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2025-01-24.
- ^ a b Stavans, Ilan (2020-01-21). How Yiddish Changed America and How America Changed Yiddish. Restless Books. p. 126–127. ISBN 978-1-63206-263-5.
- ^ Valley, Eli (2021-03-29). "Bezos in Bessemer". Jewish Currents. Retrieved 2025-01-24.