Julius Rosenbaum 1897-1956

Julius Rosenbaum was born into a Jewish family in Neuenbürg, Germany in 1897 and studied in Berlin under Lovis Corinth. During the First World War he served with the German army, then worked as a cartoonist for newspapers including 'ULK', marrying fellow artist Adèle Reifenberg in 1930. Each had a work included in the 'Exhibition of German-Jewish Artists' Work: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture' (5-15 June 1934) organised at the Parsons Gallery, London by German-Jewish emigre dealer, Carl Braunschweig (later Charles Brunswick), which included in total 221 artworks by 86 artists suffering persecution under the Nazi regime. Prior to migration, when banned from painting due to anti-Semitic legislation, he taught crafts at Jewish boys' schools. The couple fled to London in 1939, where exhibiting opportunities were limited during the war but he did exhibit two works including a coloured drawing entitled 'Departure of Jews from Berlin for Palestine' at the Ben Uri summer exhibition in 1944, while chiefly earning a living repairing Blitz-damaged houses and restoring china during the war. Postwar, between 1948 and 1956, the couple established a successful painting school, exhibiting alongside their pupils as the 'Belsize Group' and had a joint exhibition with Ruth Collet at Ben Uri's Portman Street Gallery in 1950. Rosenbaum died in Holland, on a visit to see a Rembrandt exhibition in 1956, and was buried in England. Ben Uri held a Memorial exhibition for Rosenbaum in 1957.