The Brooke-Walder Gallery is pleased to announce the upcoming retrospective of Jacob Kramer (1892-1962), three decades since the well received centenary exhibition at Leeds University Gallery. This exhibition features a number of Kramer's grand oil paintings, rare prints and works on paper including previously shown at the 1992 show.
Kramer was born in the Ukraine in 1892 and along with his family emigrated to England, settling in Leeds. His early artistic training was at the Leeds School of Art and subsequently gained admittance to the Slade School of Fine Art in London. He went to Paris to study in 1914 and became a member of the London Group in 1915 with fellow artists including Walter Sickert, Jacob Epstein and David Bomberg. Kramer served in World War I from 1916-18. His friendship with sculptor Jacob Epstein began in 1920.
Kramer remained devoted to Jewish subjects and symbols in his work, depicting persecution, conflict, and prayer in a powerful, stylised manner. In order to recall the deeply religious life of his past, he often employed simplified, angular forms to create strong rhythmic patterns. Most of Kramers life was spent in Leeds where he lectured at the Leeds College of Art and the nearby Bradford College of Art. In 1968, after the artists death, the Leeds College of Art was renamed the Jacob Kramer College.