Ilya Schor
Encyclopedia
Ilya Schor was a multi-faceted artist, a painter, jeweler, engraver, sculptor, and renowned artist of Judaica.
immigrated to the United States in December, 1941, from Marseilles, via Lisbon, after fleeing Paris in late May 1940. Ilya Schor and Resia Schor had two daughters, born in New York City: artist and writer Mira Schor
(b. 1950) and noted literary scholar and theorist, Naomi Schor
(1943–2001).
, and for Adventures of Mottel The Cantor’s Son by Sholem Aleichem, have remained in print for over fifty years. Rabbi Heschel wrote of Schor’s work, “In the stillness of the precious images Ilya Schor has called into being, generations to come will hear the voice and the spirit of eternal Israel, the inwardness and piety of our people of Eastern Europe.” Schor was also the creator of unique jewelry and small Judaica objects in silver and gold. In later years he also worked on abstract sculptures in brass and copper.
His work was exhibited at The Salpeter Gallery in New York 1953, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Boston, and the Jewish Museum (New York)
, 1948, and was included in group exhibitions such as Liturgical Art, Arts Club of Chicago and at the HCE Gallery, Provincetown MA, 1959 and 60; Six American Sculptors , Milwaukee Arts Center; Art in Judaism – Past and Present, Newark Museum, 1957; Six American Sculptors, Arts Club of Chicago, 1956.
Ilya Schor died in New York City in 1961. A retrospective of his work was held at the Jewish Museum (New York)
in 1965. Another smaller exhibition of works in varied media, "Life of the Old Jewish Shtetl: Paintings and Silver by Ilya Schor," was held at Yeshiva University
Museum in 1975. His works are included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
, the Jewish Museum (New York)
, The Jerusalem Great Synagogue Jacob and Belle Rosenbaum Mezuzah Collection, North Carolina Museum of Art
, and Sydney Jewish Museum
, Sydney, Australia.
Early life
Ilya Schor was born in Zloczow (Galicia), in the Austrian Empire, later Poland, in 1904. He came from a deeply Hasidic family. His father Naftali Schorr was a folk-artist, painting colorfully illustrated store signs for local merchants. Ilya Schor first trained as an apprentice in metalcrafts and engraving before enrolling at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts in 1930 where he studied painting. In 1937, he was awarded a grant by the Polish government to study in Paris. He exhibited successfully at the Salon d’Automne in 1938. Ilya Schor and his artist wife Resia SchorResia Schor
Resia Schor was a Polish-born artist who lived and worked in New York City from 1941 until her death in 2006.- Early life :...
immigrated to the United States in December, 1941, from Marseilles, via Lisbon, after fleeing Paris in late May 1940. Ilya Schor and Resia Schor had two daughters, born in New York City: artist and writer Mira Schor
Mira Schor
Mira Schor is an American artist, writer, editor, and educator, known for her contributions to the critical discourse on the status of painting in contemporary art and culture as well as to feminist art history and criticism.-Early life and education:Mira Schor's parents Ilya and Resia Schor were...
(b. 1950) and noted literary scholar and theorist, Naomi Schor
Naomi Schor
Naomi Schor was a noted literary critic and theorist. A pioneer of feminist theory for her generation, she is regarded as one of the foremost scholars of French literature and critical theory of her time...
(1943–2001).
Later Life and Work
In New York City, Ilya Schor began artwork that would keep fresh his memories of life of the Jews of the shtetls of Eastern Europe, working in the many materials and with the numerous skills at his disposal. He worked on major commissions for synagogues in the United States. Schor’s wood-engraving illustrations for The Earth is The Lord’s and The Sabbath, both important writings by the renowned philosopher and theologian, Rabbi Abraham Joshua HeschelAbraham Joshua Heschel
Abraham Joshua Heschel was a Polish-born American rabbi and one of the leading Jewish theologians and Jewish philosophers of the 20th century.-Biography:...
, and for Adventures of Mottel The Cantor’s Son by Sholem Aleichem, have remained in print for over fifty years. Rabbi Heschel wrote of Schor’s work, “In the stillness of the precious images Ilya Schor has called into being, generations to come will hear the voice and the spirit of eternal Israel, the inwardness and piety of our people of Eastern Europe.” Schor was also the creator of unique jewelry and small Judaica objects in silver and gold. In later years he also worked on abstract sculptures in brass and copper.
His work was exhibited at The Salpeter Gallery in New York 1953, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Boston, and the Jewish Museum (New York)
Jewish Museum (New York)
The Jewish Museum of New York, an art museum and repository of cultural artifacts, is the leading Jewish museum in the United States. With over 26,000 objects, it contains the largest collection of art and Jewish culture outside of museums in Israel. The museum is housed at 1109 Fifth Avenue, in...
, 1948, and was included in group exhibitions such as Liturgical Art, Arts Club of Chicago and at the HCE Gallery, Provincetown MA, 1959 and 60; Six American Sculptors , Milwaukee Arts Center; Art in Judaism – Past and Present, Newark Museum, 1957; Six American Sculptors, Arts Club of Chicago, 1956.
Ilya Schor died in New York City in 1961. A retrospective of his work was held at the Jewish Museum (New York)
Jewish Museum (New York)
The Jewish Museum of New York, an art museum and repository of cultural artifacts, is the leading Jewish museum in the United States. With over 26,000 objects, it contains the largest collection of art and Jewish culture outside of museums in Israel. The museum is housed at 1109 Fifth Avenue, in...
in 1965. Another smaller exhibition of works in varied media, "Life of the Old Jewish Shtetl: Paintings and Silver by Ilya Schor," was held at Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
Museum in 1975. His works are included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
, the Jewish Museum (New York)
Jewish Museum (New York)
The Jewish Museum of New York, an art museum and repository of cultural artifacts, is the leading Jewish museum in the United States. With over 26,000 objects, it contains the largest collection of art and Jewish culture outside of museums in Israel. The museum is housed at 1109 Fifth Avenue, in...
, The Jerusalem Great Synagogue Jacob and Belle Rosenbaum Mezuzah Collection, North Carolina Museum of Art
North Carolina Museum of Art
The North Carolina Museum of Art is an art museum in Raleigh, North Carolina, featuring paintings and sculpture representing 5,000 years of artistic work from antiquity to the present. The museum features more than 40 galleries as well as more than a dozen works of art in its Museum Park...
, and Sydney Jewish Museum
Sydney Jewish Museum
The Sydney Jewish Museum is a museum in Sydney, Australia, which documents the Holocaust and the history of the Jewish people in Australia.-History and description:...
, Sydney, Australia.