Reuven Rubin 1893-1974

Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver, Cleveland
By descent to the present owner

Paris, Galerie Druet, Exposition Rubin, La Palestine (1924-1928, 1928, no. 4, illustrated
New York, The Guarino Galleries, Rubin Paintings of Palestine, 1928, no. 2

This important work depicts the winding road to Jerusalem through the picturesque village of Ein Karem. Rubin portrays Jerusalem in its full spring glory with its hilly landscape and its vegetation in bloom. The oriental architecture adds to the romantic atmosphere of the work, culminating in a large, colorful and vibrant composition which typifies the optimism that infused Rubin's paintings of the period, as he depicted the land coming to life with the renewed Jewish settlement.
Being a recent immigrant to the land himself, Rubin identified closely with the spirit of the times and. George S. Hellman observed: "This man, who is also a poet and a sculptor, is assured of his place as a fortunate discoverer who has had the genius to record in terms of beauty a land that beguiles the imagination of all the world." (George S. Hellman, Rubin Paintings of Palestine, The Guarino Galleries, New York, 1928).
Born in Lithuania in 1893, Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver emigrated to New York City with his family in 1902. Graduating from Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati in 1915, Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver joined the Cleveland congregation where he was to remain for the remainder of his career. Considered by many the most prominent leader of American Zionist Judaism, Rabbi Silver held many influential positions. He was founder and co-chair of the United Jewish Appeal (1938-1944) and president of the United Palestine Appeal (1938-1944) and he served as a representative of the American Zionist movement at Zionist Congresses. Between 1945-1947 Silver was president of the Zionist Organization of America and during that same period he was also president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. Rabbi Silver was very influential in swaying American and world support for the establishment of a Jewish state.