Chasing Portraits

By Elizabeth Rynecki,

Book cover of Chasing Portraits: A Great-Granddaughter's Quest for Her Lost Art Legacy

Book description

The memoir of one woman's emotional quest to find the art of her Polish-Jewish great-grandfather, lost during World War II.

Moshe Rynecki's body of work reached close to eight hundred paintings and sculptures before his life came to a tragic end. It was his great-granddaughter Elizabeth who sought to rediscover…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

1 author picked Chasing Portraits as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Rynecki’s great-grandfather, Moshe, was a painter who documented moments of Jewish life in the interwar years: women sewing, children playing, wedding celebrations, men in prayer. When WWII broke out Moshe’s paintings were hidden, and afterward only a fraction were recovered. In this book, Rynecki recounted her decades-long quest to locate and archive the lost artwork. It’s a memoir about the lengths one will go to to ensure a lost family legacy will never be forgotten.

From Carolyn's list on WWII family searches.

Want books like Chasing Portraits?

Our community of 11,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Chasing Portraits.

Browse books like Chasing Portraits

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Poland, Jewish history, and presidential biography?

Poland 118 books
Jewish History 482 books