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| Born | June 13, 1913 Kamyanets-Podosky Ukraine |
| Died | December 6, 2013 (age 100) Brooklyn, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Painting, Holocaust, Art, Yiddish Poetry |
Yonia Fain (June 6, 1913 – December 6, 2013) was a Russian-born American painter, educator, award-winning Yiddish poet and author. Fain’s expressionist artistic style was an emotional response to the tragedy of the Holocaust. In addition to large scale paintings on canvas, works on paper, and drawings, Fain’s work included the publication of five books of Yiddish poetry.
Early Life
editYonia Fain was born on June 6, 1913 in Kamyanets-Podolsky in Southern Russia (present day Ukraine) near the border of Romania. His father was a professor of mathematics and physics, as well as an active member of the Menshevik Party. To escape the pogroms and the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, the Fain family fled Russia in 1924, first going to Warsaw and then to Vilnius, Poland. His father became a professor at the University of Vilnius, where he taught for many years.[1]
Education as an Artist
editFain studied fine art at the University of Vilnius receiving his Bachelor’s degree in 1936 and then earning a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Vilnius Academy of Fine Arts in 1937. After graduation, Fain moved to Warsaw, Poland to pursue his art career.
World War II Years
editWhen the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, Fain and his first wife Nuta, escaped Warsaw for Brest-Litovsk where they were detained by the Soviet authorities. Being fluent in Russian, Fain was conscripted into the Soviet army as a propaganda artist and his wife as a nurse, but their Anti-Soviet sentiments put the couple in danger. The Fains fled the Soviet Union in 1940, using falsified Japanese transit visas issued on behalf of the Japanese diplomat, Chiune Sugihara[2]. They traveled through Siberia to Japan. In 1941, all Jews living in Japan were transported to Shanghai, China and in 1943 a Jewish Ghetto was established there. The Fains were forced to live there with other Jewish refugees, where they remained until the end of the war.
During these years, Fain made a living painting and drawing portraits of Japanese soldiers and their families and had an exhibition there. He also was writing Yiddish poetry describing the terror and impact of his experience and life in the Ghetto, including "A Poem About Shanghai Ghetto", written under the name Yoni Fayn.[3]
At the end of the war, Fain felt compelled to continue “painting history”[4] but had no interest in returning to Europe where his family and friends had all been murdered. Having read about the Mexican social realist muralist, Diego Rivera and the transformative impact of his work, Fain decided to relocate to Mexico City where Rivera lived[4]. Through friends in the art world, Fain was able to contact Rivera who, in 1946, sponsored the visa for Fain and his wife to move to Mexico.
Post-War Career
editFain lived in Mexico City between 1946 and 1953, teaching humanities in continuing education courses at the University of Mexico while continuing to paint and write. Diego Rivera continued championing his work by mounting several exhibitions and writing the catalog essays about[4]. For instance, in 1948 Rivera was instrumental in arranging a solo exhibition at the Palacio de las Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts) in Mexico City for which Rivera wrote the essay, "A Tribute to Yonia Fain."[5] The following year, Fain was commissioned to create a wall mural and ceiling dome painting for the Panteon Israelita,Cementerio Ashkenazi (Jewish Cemetery) Memorial Chapel, in Mexico City. The chapel stands as a monument to the memory of the six million men, women, and children who perished during World War II. The painted dome created by Fain illustrates the biblical story of the vision of Ezekiel in which, under the Lord’s command, the valley of bones comes together and returns to life forming a great army[6]. For the remainder of his life, Fain’s work concerned humanity and man’s plight in society. In 1952, Fain was selected to represent Mexico in the Carnegie International in Pittsburgh.
While in Mexico, Fain also continued to write Yiddish poetry. A number of his works were published and subsequently, several books of Yiddish poetry rose to international acclaim including: A Gallow Under the Stars, Beloved Strangers, New York Addresses, and The Fifth Season. He became the long-serving president of the International Yiddish Pen Club, and in 1991, the State of Israel honored him with the Meneger Prize for Yiddish Literature.
Among the many artist friends and associates that Yonia Fain developed during his years in Mexico, was an especially close relationship with the artist Rufino Tamayo and his wife. By 1953, Fain and his first wife had divorced, and he had married his second wife Helen, an American journalist. They were urged by the Tamayo’s to move to New York City, which had become the center of the art world. The Tamayos introduced Fain to several art galleries and helped him attain a teaching position at the Brooklyn Museum while he continued to create works of art and to exhibit in galleries. From 1964 until 1970, Fain taught art history at New York University. In 1971, he joined the faculty of Hofstra University where he taught art history and the philosophy of art until his retirement in 1985. He had several solo art exhibitions in London and New York and was included in a 2001 exhibition at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The Hofstra University Museum of Art mounted a solo exhibition of his work in 2012, Yonia Fain: Remembrance, the opening of which he attended at the age of 99. Fain continued producing works of art until his death on December 6, 2013 at the age of 100. His work has been collected by museums worldwide. In every work of art and poem he created, Fain’s essential message was “…remember, remember, remember…” and to do so always with a commitment to respect and help one another and with a sense of hope. Through the power of visual and written imagery, Fain conveys a message of survival and hope.
External Links
editReferences
edit- ^ Majority of information in this entry is taken from the exhibition catalog, Yonia Fain: Remembrance. Hempstead NY; Hofstra University Museum, 2012. Biographical information is from in-person conversations and interviews between Yonia Fain and Karen Albert, Beth Levinthal, and Nancy Richner in May and November 2011.
- ^ The visas were not in their names, according to Yonia Fain, having come from Sugihara indirectly via friends. Kenneth Wayne, “Yonia Fain: An Artist of the Holocaust” for exhibition catalog, Yonia Fain: Remembrance. Hempstead NY; Hofstra University Museum, 2012.
- ^ Wayne, Kenneth. “Yonia Fain: An Artist of the Holocaust” for exhibition catalog, Yonia Fain: Remembrance. Hempstead NY; Hofstra University Museum, 2012.
- ^ a b c Levinthal, Beth. “Yonia Fain: The Painter of History” for exhibition catalog, Yonia Fain: Remembrance. Hempstead NY; Hofstra University Museum, 2012.
- ^ Preface to catalog of paintings by Yonia Fain exhibited at the “Palacio de las Bellas Artes” in Mexico City, January 1948. In collection of the Hofstra University Museum of Art.
- ^ Albert, Karen. “Yonia Fain: Wall Mural and Ceiling Dome Painting for the Memorial Chapel, Panteon Israelita, Ceminterio Ashkenazi, Mexico City” for exhibition catalog, Yonia Fain: Remembrance. Hempstead NY; Hofstra University Museum, 2012.