Leon Israel
Leon Israel | |
|---|---|
 Portrait from a 1955 obituary | |
| Born | (1887-12-12)December 12, 1887 Pinsk, Russian Empire |
| Died | January 12, 1955(1955-01-12) (aged 67) New York City, United States |
| Signature | |
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Leon Israel (Yiddish: לעאָן איזראַעל; December 12, 1887 – January 12, 1955), known under the pseudonym "Lola" (לאָלאַ),[1] was an 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
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
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
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
- "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]
- 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]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/%22Open_for_Business_%E2%80%93_Help_Wanted!%22_cartoon_by_Leon_Israel,_1911.jpg/1280px-%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]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/The_Big_Stick_newspaper_cartoon_by_Leon_Israel_%22The_Bitter_Drop%22.jpg/1280px-The_Big_Stick_newspaper_cartoon_by_Leon_Israel_%22The_Bitter_Drop%22.jpg)
References
- ^"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.
- ^ abcdeFogel, Joshua (1956). "Izrael, Leon". Leksikon Fun Der Nayer Yidisher Literatur. Vol. 1. Congress for Jewish Culture. Retrieved 2025-01-24.
- ^ abcde"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.
- ^ abc"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.
- ^ abStavans, Ilan (2020-01-21). How Yiddish Changed America and How America Changed Yiddish. Restless Books. pp. 126–127. ISBN 978-1-63206-263-5.
- ^Valley, Eli (2021-03-29). "Bezos in Bessemer". Jewish Currents. Retrieved 2025-01-24.
