Jacob Kramer: Creativity and Loss

The first biography of an important artist difficult to pigeon hole in the history of twentieth-century British art. A Jewish immigrant, Kramer was a contemporary of Mark Gertler, David Bomberg, William Roberts and C R W Nevinson, but was not interested in joining artist groups. Yet he brought a robust energy, largeness and simplicity of design to the English art scene. As Frances Spalding has commented, there is a quality in his art that remains defiantly Eastern European. Despite his Slade training and friendships, Kramer lived his life in Leeds, his best work done in the post-World War I years.There, he became a close friend of critic Herbert Read, and for years was a pivotal figure in the Leeds cultural scene. Kramer's artistic reputation rests largely on his early portraiture, especially of Jewish subjects - tense, haunting images, strong and compelling. He is represented in many public and private collections, notably Tate Britain, National Portrait Gallery, Leeds City Art Gallery and the