Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 9

Paul Jeffay
Judaica Jewish Etching Hasidic Rabbi, Gaon, Genius, Vintage Chassidic Art Print

c.1930's

About the Item

"Un savant." Chassidic scholar, Rosh Yeshiva with open book. Judaica, Jewish scenes from a shtetl ghetto. Saul Yaffie, a.k.a. Paul Jeffay, (1898–1957) was a Scottish Jewish artist. Known for his charming French street scenes as well as his judaica work. This is signed in the plate and dated 1931 in the print. This is done in a style similar to the works of the early Bezalel School artists Hermann Struck and Jakob Steinhardt. This lithograph, by artist Paul Jeffay depicts a Judaic Shtetl interior scene with great charm and sensitivity. Saul Yaffie was born in Blythswood, Glasgow on 29 April 1898. His mother was Kate Yaffie (née Karkonoski), and his father, Bernard Yaffie, was a master tailor. Like many Russian Jews, Kate and Bernard Yaffie fled persecution in Russia during a wave of anti-Jewish pogroms triggered by the assassination of Tsar Alexander II in 1881. Saul's father was naturalised as a British citizen by the time that Saul himself was three; a Bernard Yaffie is recorded as living at Abbotsford Place in the old Gorbals, where the young Saul spent the early years of his childhood. The Yaffies were not unique in their situation: the Gorbals was the centre of Scotland's Jewish community and home to a large proportion of Glasgow's immigrants throughout the early 20th century. Over time, there was a movement to some of the more affluent communities in Glasgow, such as Pollokshields and Garnethill, as many Jewish families gradually improved their social and economic situation. Like these, the Yaffies also experienced a time of good fortune, moving to a more agreeable address on Sinclair Drive, Cathcart as Bernard's tailoring business prospered. Saul attended day classes in drawing and painting, modelling, and life drawing at The Glasgow School of Art from 1912 to 1919. During the First World War, he was required to interrupt his studies to serve in the King's Own Scottish Borderers in 1916/17. Although subject to military conscription, Yaffie reached the rank of corporal during his service. Prior to his conscription Yaffie engaged in munitions work, something that was recorded in the GSA's student registers. The post-war economic depression that affected the country during the 1920s, also affected the Yaffie family directly: Bernard Yaffie's business suffered greatly, and the family eventually emigrated to Canada. Saul did not emigrate with his family, choosing instead to stay in Europe, and relocate to jazz age Paris where he continued his artistic practice. Now married, Saul sought to escape persecution in Europe by returning to the UK before the Second World War with his wife, Estusia. The two settled in Manchester, but returned to France after the war. In his memoires ‘Bronze in My Blood’, German-born sculptor Benno Schotz describes a Saul ‘Yaffe’, one of only three other Jewish students who attended The Glasgow School of Art at the time. (Schotz himself was exempt from joining the forces because he was ‘not yet a British subject’, and was engaged in war work in the drawing office of John Brown’s shipyards). On the outbreak of the war, Schotz writes, Yaffie won a poster competition to be displayed in Glasgow tramcars at the beginning of the 1914-18 war – his winning design depicted a woman with a child in her arms, fleeing from a fire behind her. While on leave from service, the young Saul told Schotz he had briefly been stationed in the same unit as Jewish American sculptor Jacob Epstein. This was most likely the 38th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers, also known as ‘the Jewish Legion’, one of five Jewish battalions raised during WW1. ‘He told me how incongruous it was’, remembers Schotz, ‘to See Epstein scrubbing the floor of their hut, with a large diamond ring on his finger’. His work is included in the collection of the Ben Uri Museum in London along with Lucian Freud, David Bomberg, Mark Gertler, Josef Herman, Jankel Adler, Feliks Topolski and Alfred Wolmark. Significantly, the Ben Uri Collection includes important works by a considerable number of these great émigré artists. After the armistice Saul returned briefly to Glasgow, before ‘try[ing] his luck in Paris’ (Schotz, pg. 64). It is around this time that Saul began to sign his work with the pseudonym ‘Paul Jeffay’. Saul Yaffie is listed in the Glasgow School of Art's World War One Roll of Honour. He later went by the name Paul Jeffay, and much of his work is signed under this name. Saul Yaffie/Paul Jeffay died in Paris in 1957; his work is included the Ben Uri Gallery Collection of Jewish émigré artists.
  • Creator:
    Paul Jeffay (1898 - 1957, British)
  • Creation Year:
    c.1930's
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 14.9 in (37.85 cm)Width: 11.1 in (28.2 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    handmade paper, edges ruffled and slightly toned.
  • Gallery Location:
    Surfside, FL
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU3825041182
More From This SellerView All
  • Dutch Fantastic Modern Etching, Jan Mensinga Old Master Style Wine Maker, Grapes
    Located in Surfside, FL
    Jan Roelf Mensinga, Dutch artist, painter, graphic printmaker, watercolor artist. (born Leeuwarden 1924 - 1998 Amsterdam) Education: Mensinga attended an art studies from 1954 to 1...
    Category

    20th Century Expressionist Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Etching

  • Judaica Jewish Rabbi Etching Hasidic Rebbe Admur Shlita Vintage Chassidic Print
    By Paul Jeffay
    Located in Surfside, FL
    "Sabbat." Sabbath. the piece is marked in the plate Admur Shlita (this might be the Munkatcher Rebbe or the Belzer Rebbe from before the war) Chassidic Rebbe, with open book. Judaica, Jewish scenes from a Shtetl. Saul Yaffie, a.k.a. Paul Jeffay, (1898–1957) was a Scottish Jewish artist. Known for his charming French street scenes as well as his judaica work. This is signed in the plate and dated 1931 in the print. This is done in a style similar to the works of the early Bezalel School artists Hermann Struck and Jakob Steinhardt. This lithograph, by artist Paul Jeffay depicts a Judaic Shtetl interior scene with great charm and sensitivity. Saul Yaffie was born in Blythswood, Glasgow on 29 April 1898. His mother was Kate Yaffie (née Karkonoski), and his father, Bernard Yaffie, was a master tailor. Like many Russian Jews, Kate and Bernard Yaffie fled persecution in Russia during a wave of anti-Jewish pogroms triggered by the assassination of Tsar Alexander II in 1881. Saul's father was naturalised as a British citizen by the time that Saul himself was three; a Bernard Yaffie is recorded as living at Abbotsford Place in the old Gorbals, where the young Saul spent the early years of his childhood. The Yaffies were not unique in their situation: the Gorbals was the centre of Scotland's Jewish community and home to a large proportion of Glasgow's immigrants throughout the early 20th century. Over time, there was a movement to some of the more affluent communities in Glasgow, such as Pollokshields and Garnethill, as many Jewish families gradually improved their social and economic situation. Like these, the Yaffies also experienced a time of good fortune, moving to a more agreeable address on Sinclair Drive, Cathcart as Bernard's tailoring business prospered. Saul attended day classes in drawing and painting, modelling, and life drawing at The Glasgow School of Art from 1912 to 1919. During the First World War, he was required to interrupt his studies to serve in the King's Own Scottish Borderers in 1916/17. Although subject to military conscription, Yaffie reached the rank of corporal during his service. Prior to his conscription Yaffie engaged in munitions work, something that was recorded in the GSA's student registers. The post-war economic depression that affected the country during the 1920s, also affected the Yaffie family directly: Bernard Yaffie's business suffered greatly, and the family eventually emigrated to Canada. Saul did not emigrate with his family, choosing instead to stay in Europe, and relocate to jazz age Paris where he continued his artistic practice. Now married, Saul sought to escape persecution in Europe by returning to the UK before the Second World War with his wife, Estusia. The two settled in Manchester, but returned to France after the war. In his memoires ‘Bronze in My Blood’, German-born sculptor Benno Schotz...
    Category

    20th Century Expressionist Portrait Prints

    Materials

    Etching

  • Zohar Kabbalah Portrait French Jewish Surrealist Aquatint Etching Hebrew Judaica
    By Zvi Milshtein
    Located in Surfside, FL
    Etching and Aquatint with embossing, Zwy Milshtein (Zvi Tzvi Milstein) BIOGRAPHY 1934 Born in Kishinev (Bessarabia) Russian, Romanian region. 1948 Arrived in Israel via Cyprus, wher...
    Category

    20th Century Expressionist Portrait Prints

    Materials

    Etching, Aquatint

  • Portrait of Woman on Typeface French Jewish Surrealist Aquatint Etching Judaica
    By Zvi Milshtein
    Located in Surfside, FL
    Etching and Aquatint with embossing, This is numbered by hand in pencil but does not appear to be signed. Zwy Milshtein (Zvi Tzvi Milstein) BIOGRAPHY 1934 Born in Kishinev (Bessarab...
    Category

    20th Century Expressionist Portrait Prints

    Materials

    Etching, Aquatint

  • Erotic Nude French Surrealist Aquatint Etching Photo Collage Silkscreen Print
    By Zvi Milshtein
    Located in Surfside, FL
    This is numbered by hand in pencil and signed in pencil. An erotic nude etching. Zwy Milshtein (Zvi Tzvi Milstein) BIOGRAPHY 1934 Born in Kishinev (Bessarabia) Russian, Romanian reg...
    Category

    20th Century Expressionist Portrait Prints

    Materials

    Etching, Aquatint

  • Portraits Erotic Vignettes French Israeli Surrealist Aquatint Etching Le Colonel
    By Zvi Milshtein
    Located in Surfside, FL
    Etching and Aquatint with embossing featuring a clock, the colonel, a nude woman undressing and a figure. This is numbered by hand in pencil and signed in pencil. Zwy Milshtein (Zvi ...
    Category

    20th Century Expressionist Portrait Prints

    Materials

    Etching, Aquatint

You May Also Like
  • Rembrandt as a Child
    By José Luis Cuevas
    Located in Long Island City, NY
    Artist: Jose Luis Cuevas, Mexican (1934 - 2017) Title: Rembrandt as a Child Year: 1988 Medium: Aquatint Etching, Signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 70 Image ...
    Category

    1980s Expressionist Portrait Prints

    Materials

    Etching

  • Aria II, Rosie Emerson, Limited Edition Print, Affordable Artwork, Still Life
    By Rosie Emerson
    Located in Deddington, GB
    ‘Aria’, the accompanied solo performance in an Opera, also means Air in Italian is a fitting title for these brand new ethereal works, they work well in pairs or a set of three. The ...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Portrait Prints

    Materials

    Paper, Etching

  • original etching
    By Leonard Baskin
    Located in Henderson, NV
    Medium: original etching. Printed in 1984 on Cartiere Magnani paper at the atelier of Bruce Chandler in an edition of 1500. This work was executed by ...
    Category

    1980s Expressionist Portrait Prints

    Materials

    Etching

  • original etching
    By Leonard Baskin
    Located in Henderson, NV
    Medium: original etching. Printed in 1984 on Cartiere Magnani paper at the atelier of Bruce Chandler in an edition of 1500. This work was executed by Leonard Baskin to illustrate the Arthur Miller classic "Death of a Salesman...
    Category

    1980s Expressionist Portrait Prints

    Materials

    Etching

  • original etching
    By Leonard Baskin
    Located in Henderson, NV
    Medium: original etching. Printed in 1984 on Cartiere Magnani paper at the atelier of Bruce Chandler in an edition of 1500. This work was executed by Leonard Baskin to illustrate the Arthur Miller classic "Death of a Salesman...
    Category

    1980s Expressionist Portrait Prints

    Materials

    Etching

  • original etching
    By Leonard Baskin
    Located in Henderson, NV
    Medium: original etching. Printed in 1984 on Cartiere Magnani paper at the atelier of Bruce Chandler in an edition of 1500. This work was executed by Leonard Baskin to illustrate the Arthur Miller classic "Death of a Salesman...
    Category

    1980s Expressionist Portrait Prints

    Materials

    Etching

Recently Viewed

View All