By William Weintraub
Located in Surfside, FL
In an ever-changing art world that embraces one movement after the next, the timeless art of portraiture can become lost. Portraiture is often associated with the royal paintings of centuries-old French kings, European nobility, and other wealthy individuals from art history's past. However, styles like Social Realism and Dutch genre painting spotlighted everyday people and made them powerful subjects for portraiture. Rather than illuminating jewels, thrones, and fine regalia, artists painted the natural beauty of a working woman or the quiet sadness of an impoverished child. Artist William Weintraub approaches his work in a manner reminiscent of the first Social Realists when capturing his subjects, the vibrant and intriguing people of Israel.
Born in 1926, Weintraub grew up in Baltimore and studied at the Maryland Institute of Art. While attending, he had the opportunity to study under the artist Jacques Maroger who also served as the technical director for the Louvre Museum's laboratory in Paris. Two years after completing school, Weintraub joined the U.S. Merchant Marines in 1944 and traveled to Europe and the Mediterranean. These trips proved critical for his art because of the wealth of subjects and inspiration available to him. In 1947, he joined the SS Hatikva crew and helped move Jewish refugees from Europe to the Palestinian area. When the ship was obstructed from its next destination, Weintraub was held at a detention camp in Cyprus.
After his short detainment at Cyprus, Weintraub briefly joined the Israeli Merchant Navy before settling in Tel Aviv. Feeling at home, he decided to devote all his time toward art and began to craft his signature portraits of Israeli people and life. By 1955, he began crafting a large catalog of paintings and lithographs depicting people at work, children at play, and contemplative elderly citizens of Israel. Rather than creating formal portraits, his subjects feel like quick, sudden snapshots in time or moments frozen in a glimpse.
The simply titled paintings Two Girls and Girl show Israeli children, in traditional dress, engaged in their daily activities. These works are reminiscent of the 17th century Dutch genre scenes...
Category
Mid-20th Century Modern William Weintraub Art