THE MUSEUM OF FAMILY HISTORY

Paint What You Remember

THE WORKS OF MAYER KIRSHENBLATT
 

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Mayer Kirshenblatt is a self-taught artist living and working in Toronto. Born in Apt (Opatów in Polish) in 1916, he arrived in Canada in 1934 at the age of seventeen. After apprenticing to an electrician and cobbler in Poland and working in a sweatshop in Toronto, he painted houses and eventually opened his own wallpaper and paint store. He retired in 1977.

In 1990, Mayer began to paint everything he could remember about his hometown and his childhood there. Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, his daughter, began interviewing him in 1967 and has continued to do so until the present. She is University Professor and Professor of Performance Studies at New York University.

 

 

 

Instructions for optimal viewing: You can either left-click on any of the thumbnails below to see a larger representation of each image, along with the title and description of each piece, or you can just go from one photograph to the next by left-clicking on the "next ►►" found at the top right of each page.

This exhibition contains short audio and video clips. When audio is available, it will begin playing as soon as the webpage opens; the video will begin only when you click on the arrow.

 
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
 

Mayer Kirshenblatt is a self-taught artist living and working in Toronto. Born in Apt (Opatów in Polish) in 1916, he arrived in Canada in 1934 at the age of seventeen. After apprenticing to an electrician and cobbler in Poland and working in a sweatshop in Toronto, he painted houses and eventually opened his own wallpaper and paint store. He retired in 1977.

In 1990, Mayer began to paint everything he could remember about his hometown and his childhood there. Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, his daughter, began interviewing him in 1967 and has continued to do so until the present. She is University Professor and Professor of Performance Studies at New York University.

 

 

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