William Gropper, Anti-Semitic Artist, that Hitler Made Love Jews

THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
By Menachem Wecker
ILLINOIS---When it comes to William Gropper’s illustrations of Jews, it’s a tale of two artists. Some of the New York-born cartoonist’s drawings of fellow Jews epitomize the worst of anti-Semitic caricature — hooked noses, large foreheads, big lips, and hunched shoulders. But Gropper (1897-1977), who grew up as one of six children in a poor Jewish family on the Lower East Side, has another Jewish repertoire. This body of work by Gropper, a 1931 recipient of the Young Israel Prize, includes dozens of depictions of rabbis often in prayer, dancing hasidim, biblical scenes (such as Jonah, Joshua, and Adam and Eve), Talmud scholars, a “Shtetl series,” and other scenes of Jewish life. Rather than denigrating Jews, these pieces celebrate a Jewish identity which seems to have lain dormant in Gropper until he saw the Nazi atrocities of World War II. [link]

Popular posts from this blog

Passing on Your Collection to Another Generation

Museum Calls Off Kehinde Wiley Show, Citing Assault Allegations

Was Jesus naked on the cross? Yes, according to Michelangelo, the Bible, and Roman customs