Esther Shemitz (June 25, 1900August 16, 1986), also known as "Esther Chambers" and "Mrs. Whittaker Chambers," was an American painter and illustrator who, as wife of ex-Soviet spy

Whittaker Chambers Whittaker Chambers (born Jay Vivian Chambers; April 1, 1901 – July 9, 1961) was an American writer-editor, who, after early years as a Communist Party member (1925) and Soviet spy (1932–1938), defected from the Soviet underground (1938) ...

, provided testimony that "helped substantiate" her husband's allegations during the Hiss Case.

Background

Shemitz was born on June 25, 1900, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. She was the youngest child of Rabbi Benjamin Shemitz and Rose Thorner. The family soon moved from New York City to

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

, where they ran a candy store. The family had immigrated to the U.S. in the 1890s from the " Podolsk Province." In the late 1910s, Shemitz attended the Rand School. At Rand in the same period were Nerma Berman, the wife of the Soviet spy Cy Oggins, and

CPUSA The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...

Fosterite Carrie Katz, the first wife of philosopher Sidney Hook. In May 1920, Algernon Lee, educational director, presided over the graduation of the second-largest class ever at Rand, whose members included: John J. Bardsley, William D. Bavelaar, Annie S. Buller, Louis Cohan, Harry A. Durlauf, Clara Friedman, Rebecca Goldberg, William Greenspoon, Isabella E. Hall, Ammon A. Hennsey (

Ammon Hennacy Ammon Ashford Hennacy (1893–1970) was an American Christian pacifist, anarchist, social activist, member of the Catholic Worker Movement, and Wobbly. He established the Joe Hill House of Hospitality in Salt Lake City, Utah, and practiced tax ...

), Hedwig Holmes, Annie Kronhardt, Anna P. Lee, Victoria Levinson, Elsie Lindenberg, Selma Melms (first wife of Ammon Hennacy). ), Hyman Neback, Bertha Ruvinsky, Celia Samorodin, Mae Schiff, Esther T. Shemitz, Nathan S. Spivak, Esther Silverman, Sophia Ruderman, and Clara Walters.

Career

Painter, illustrator

During the early 1920s, Shemitz worked at a chapter of the

International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), whose members were employed in the women's clothing industry, was once one of the largest labor unions in the United States, one of the first U.S. unions to have a primarily female membe ...

(ILGWU) under

Juliet Stuart Poyntz Juliet Stuart Poyntz (originally 'Points') (25 November 1886 – 1937) was an American suffragist, trade unionist and communist spy. As a student and university teacher, Poyntz espoused many radical causes and went on to become a co-founder o ...

in return for a stipend to the

Leonardo da Vinci Art School The Leonardo da Vinci Art School (the "Leonardo") was an art school founded in New York City (1923–1942), whose most famous student was Isamu Noguchi and whose director was sculptor and poet Onorio Ruotolo. History First decade With sculpt ...

. On the night of April 5, 1922, "Esther T. Schemitz," described as "secretary-treasurer" of the ILGWU's

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

chapter, was arrested for disorderly conduct when she allegedly called a special police officer a "professional strike breaker." Shemitz was granted bail within two hours of jailing. In 1926, Shemitz roomed on East 11 Street on the Lower East Side with writer

Grace Lumpkin Grace Lumpkin (March 3, 1891 – March 23, 1980) was an American writer of proletarian literature, focusing most of her works on the Depression era and the rise and fall of favor surrounding communism in the United States. Most important of fou ...

, and they both worked at '' The World Tomorrow'' magazine. During her time at the magazine, contributors included "social reformers, suffrage leaders, black intellectuals, labor activists, and a range of other progressives. Shemitz also served as the advertising manager at the ''

New Masses ''New Masses'' (1926–1948) was an American Marxist magazine closely associated with the Communist Party USA. It succeeded both ''The Masses'' (1912–1917) and ''The Liberator''. ''New Masses'' was later merged into '' Masses & Mainstream'' (19 ...

'' in 1926. In December 1926, on behalf of the ''World Tomorrow'', Shemitz took

Rebecca West Dame Cicily Isabel Fairfield (21 December 1892 – 15 March 1983), known as Rebecca West, or Dame Rebecca West, was a British author, journalist, literary critic and travel writer. An author who wrote in many genres, West reviewed books ...

to see the Passaic Textile Strike at the Botany Worsted Mills. There Shemtiz was beaten and arrested along with Sophie Shulman of ''New Masses'' magazine and another reporter, Sender Garlin. In the latter 1920s, Shemitz studied at the

Art Students League The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stu ...

in New York under

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and Thomas Hart Benton. Shemitz also contributed cartoons to the ''

Daily Worker The ''Daily Worker'' was a newspaper published in New York City by the Communist Party USA, a formerly Comintern-affiliated organization. Publication began in 1924. While it generally reflected the prevailing views of the party, attempts were ...

'' newspaper. In 1929, Shemitz was one of many signatories to form the

John Reed Club The John Reed Clubs (1929–1935), often referred to as John Reed Club (JRC), were an American federation of local organizations targeted towards Marxist writers, artists, and intellectuals, named after the American journalist and activist John ...

in New York. She illustrated books for

International Publishers International Publishers is a book publishing company based in New York City, specializing in Marxist works of economics, political science, and history. Company history Establishment International Publishers Company, Inc., was founded in 1924 ...

, notably ''Labor and Silk'' by Grace Hutchins (1929), with a cover designed by

Louis Lozowick Louis Lozowick (1892 – 1973) (ukr: Луї Лозовик) was a Ukrainian-born American painter and printmaker. He is recognized as an Art Deco and Precisionist artist, and mainly produced streamline, urban-inspired monochromatic litho ...

. At year-end 1929, Shemitz partook in the first-ever art exhibition of the John Reed Club, held at the United Workers Cooperatives apartment buildings (also called the "United Workers Cooperative Colony" and the "Commie Coops") on Bronx Park East. Artists in the show included:

Jacob Burck Jacob Burck (née Yankel Boczkowsky, January 10, 1907 – May 11, 1982) was a Polish-born Jewish-American painter, sculptor, and award-winning editorial cartoonist. Active in the Communist movement from 1926 as a political cartoonist and muralist, ...

, Fred Ellis,

William Gropper William Gropper (December 3, 1897January 3, 1977) was a U.S. cartoonist, painter, lithographer, and muralist. A committed radical, Gropper is best known for the political work which he contributed to such left wing publications as '' The Rev ...

, Eitaro Ishigaki
Gan Kolski

, Morris Pass,

Anton Refregier Anton Refregier (March 20, 1905 – October 10, 1979) was a painter and muralist active in Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project commissions, and in teaching art. He was a Russian immigrant to the United States. Among his best-kn ...

, Louis Leon Ribak, Otto Soglow, and Art Young. In 1930, Shemitz worked briefly for the Soviet-controlled

Amtorg Trading Corporation Amtorg Trading Corporation, also known as Amtorg (short for ''Amerikanskaya Torgovlya'', russian: Амторг), was the first trade representation of the Soviet Union in the United States, established in New York in 1924 by merging Armand Hamme ...

, AMTORG, a job found for her by Hutchin's partner

Anna Rochester Anna Rochester (March 30, 1880 — May 11, 1966) was an American labor reformer, journalist, political activist, and Communist. Although for several years an editor of the liberal monthly '' The World Tomorrow,'' Rochester is best remembered as a ...

. In May 1930, Shemitz joined scores of artists, writers, and educators, all members of the John Reed Club, (at 102 West Fourteenth Street, New York) in signing a protest against "Red-baiting" protest. They included:

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, Franz Boas, Walt Carmon,

Malcolm Cowley Malcolm Cowley (August 24, 1898 – March 27, 1989) was an American writer, editor, historian, poet, and literary critic. His best known works include his first book of poetry, ''Blue Juniata'' (1929), his lyrical memoir, ''Exile's Return ...

Floyd Dell Floyd James Dell (June 28, 1887 – July 23, 1969) was an American newspaper and magazine editor, literary critic, novelist, playwright, and poet. Dell has been called "one of the most flamboyant, versatile and influential American Men of Letters ...

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, Fred Ellis,

Kenneth Fearing Kenneth Flexner Fearing (July 28, 1902 – June 26, 1961) was an American poet and novelist. A major poet of the Depression era, he addressed the shallowness and consumerism of American society as he saw it, often by ironically adapting the lan ...

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, Harry Freeman,

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, Michael Gold,

, Jack Hardy,

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, Eitaro Ishigaki,

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, Joshua Kunitz,

, A.B. Magil, H.L. Mencken,

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, Joseph North, Isidore Schneider,

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, and Art Young. At least one co-signer was a classmate (

), another a roommate (

), two were sponsors (

Grace Hutchins Grace Hutchins (August 19, 1885 – July 15, 1969) was an American labor reformer and researcher, journalist, political activist and communist. She spent many years of her life writing about labor and economics, in addition to being a lifelong ded ...

and

), and two were teachers (

and

). In April 1931, Shemitz married

. In May 1931, she contributed a cartoon to the ''

'' magazine. In 1932, when her husband's name appeared as an editor, the names of Esther Shemitz and Jacob Burck appeared as (art) contributors for the ''New Masses'' alongside longer-term contributors like Louis Lozowick,

, William Siegel, and

Joseph Vogel Joseph Vogel is an American author, scholar, and popular culture critic. He is the author of several books, including '' Man in the Music: The Creative Life and Work of Michael Jackson'' and ''This Thing Called Life: Prince, Race, Sex, Religion, ...

Soviet underground

Shemitz cut short her own art career when her husband entered the Soviet underground in mid-1932. Thus, unlike most of her circle, who contributed to publications such as the ''Daily Worker'' newspaper and ''New Masses'' magazine, she did not become one of the New Deal's Federal Art Project artists during the latter part of the Great Depression and into

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

In 1938, when Chambers defected from the underground, Grace Hutchins delivered a death threat against him, through her brother, attorney Reuben Shemitz. Later, following a grand jury investigation in December 1948, Reuben Shemitz told the press:

(Hutchins) said she wanted to see him on a 'matter of life and death' ... She assured me that no harm would come to my sister or her children if Whit would get in touch with someone known to Whit as Steve ( J. Peters).

In his 1952 memoir, Chambers detailed:

There strode into my brother-in-law's office one morning a rather striking-looking white-haired woman, about fifty years old. She told the receptionist that Miss Grace Hutchins wished to see Mr. Shemitz ...
In his private office, she came to the point at once: "If you will agree to turn Chambers over to us," she said, "the party will guarantee the safety of your sister and the children." My startled brother-in-law, who, like most Americans, was completely unaware of what Communism is really like (we had never discussed the subject), tried to explain that he did not know even the whereabouts of his sister, her husband or their children ...
"If he does not show up by (such and such a day)," she said briskly, "he will be killed." with that she left ... Terrified by the visit and unable to warn us, he was frantic. He rushed to the only two people he could think of who might know where we were ... Neither of them could help him.

. She managed the family's Pipe Creek Farm from the late 1930s to the mid-1950s.

Hiss Case

During deposition for the slander suit of Alger Hiss against Chambers in 1948, the Hiss legal team's rough treatment of Shemitz was the final factor in leading Chambers to disclose the existence of his "life preserver," which contained the "Baltimore Documents" and the "

Pumpkin Papers The Pumpkin Papers are a set of typewritten, handwritten, and microfilmed documents, stolen from the US federal government (thus information leaks) by members of the Ware Group and other Soviet spy networks in Washington, DC, during 1937-1938, wi ...

." During the Hiss Case and trials, Shemitz corroborated and often augmented much of her husband's testimony. (She further explained, "I am now trying to remember things I had shut out of my mind, I thought completely." ) In December 1948, with indictments in the Hiss Case pending, Shemitz struck an elderly female pedestrian with her car; the woman soon died. The accident made front pages:

'' Brooklyn Eagle'' Sunday, December 19, 1948 HELD IN AUTO DEATH Mrs. Whittaker Chambers, wife of the self-confessed former Communist spy, leaves the Baltimore police station after her arraignment in connection with the death of an aged woman struck by her car as she was going to the railroad station to pick up her husband after he testified before the Federal grand jury in Manhattan. Mrs. Chambers is the former Esther Shemitz of Brooklyn.

Soon after, the case was dropped, as the victim had repeatedly attempted suicide by jumping in front of oncoming cars.

Aftermath

Shemitz was subject to rumors from Hiss supporters, particularly one claiming that not only were she and Lumpkin lesbian lovers but they were also involved in a four-way menage with their allegedly gay husbands – most recently put forward in biography of lesbians Anna Rochester and Grace Hutchins. In fact, Hutchins was the source of many such rumors: another she spread to the Hiss defense team was that Shemitz had told Hutchins that Chambers had spent time in the Westchester Division of the

Bloomingdale Insane Asylum The Bloomingdale Insane Asylum (1821–1889) was an American private hospital for the care of the mentally ill, founded by New York Hospital. It was located in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, where Columbia U ...

, a claim she later withdrew. ( Robert Cantwell, a close friend of Chambers, had received treatment there in the 1940s; "Robert Cantwell" was an alias Chambers had used in the Soviet underground.) A.B. Magil (a long-time ''

'' writer and editor and CPUSA member) told Elinor Ferry (a Hiss supporter) that Chambers' wife and her roommate Grace Lumpkin ''appeared'' to be lesbians. "Esther was masculine in appearance and in her voice. Grace was the softer, more feminine type." The overall experience of the Hiss Case led Shemitz to avoid all press and never speak to researchers, including

Allen Weinstein Allen Weinstein (September 1, 1937 – June 18, 2015) was an American historian, educator, and federal official who served in several different offices. He was, under the Reagan administration, cofounder of the National Endowment for Democracy in ...

Personal life and death

Shemitz's older brother was attorney Reuben Shemitz. A nephew was

Nathan Levine Nathan Levine (January 18, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an American labor lawyer and real estate attorney in Brooklyn, New York, who, as attorney for his uncle, Whittaker Chambers, testified regarding his uncle's "life preserver." This packet in ...

; another was Sylvan Shemitz. In 1926, Whittaker Chambers first saw Shemitz at the Passaic Textile Strike, which he described at length in his 1952 memoir. In 1930, Chambers and friend Mike Intrator began to court Shemitz and Lumpkin; both couples married in 1931. Shemitz's marriage was witnessed by Grace Hutchins and her life partner

. Shemitz and Chambers had a daughter in 1933 and a son in 1936. Once Chambers defected, husband and wife lived at the Pipe Creek Farm, near

Westminster, Maryland Westminster is a city in northern Maryland, United States. It is the seat of Carroll County. The city's population was 18,590 at the 2010 census. Westminster is an outlying community within the Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA, which is part of a great ...

, for the rest of their lives. The couple had two children, Ellen and John, during the 1930s, despite the Communist leadership expecting couples to remain childless, but many refused, a choice Chambers cited as part of his gradual disillusionment with communism. Daughter Ellen died in 2017; her children are Stephen, Pamela, and John. Shemitz made her first and only trip abroad, to Europe, with Chambers in the summer of 1959, during which they met

Arthur Koestler Arthur Koestler, (, ; ; hu, Kösztler Artúr; 5 September 1905 – 1 March 1983) was a Hungarian-born author and journalist. Koestler was born in Budapest and, apart from his early school years, was educated in Austria. In 1931, Koestler join ...

and

Margarete Buber-Neumann Margarete Buber-Neumann (21 October 1901 – 6 November 1989) was a German writer. As a communist, she wrote the memoir ''Under Two Dictators'' about her imprisonment within a Soviet prison, and later a Nazi concentration camp during World War ...

among others. When Chambers died of his seventh heart attack on July 9, 1961, Shemitz collapsed and was rushed to the nearest hospital in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. On August 16, 1986, she died age 86 at her home.

Works

Paintings, illustrations

All of Shemitz's paintings are held privately by her family or friends. Her illustrations appeared in the ''Daily Worker'' newspaper, the ''New Masses'' magazine, and the book ''Labor and Silk'' and include: * "Alookin' f'r a home," ''New Masses'' (May 1931)

Books, articles

* "Creative Impulse in a Hostile Environment" with

, '' The World Tomorrow'' (April 1926) * ''Labor and Silk'' by

, illustrations by Esther Shemitz, cover by

(New York:

, 1929) * ''Cold Friday'' by Whittaker Chambers, edited by Duncan Norton-Taylor and Esther Shemitz (New York: Random House, 1964)

References

External sources

* * * *
Hathi Trust
Labor and Silk {{DEFAULTSORT:Shemitz, Esther 1900 births 1986 deaths 20th-century American painters 20th-century American women artists American pacifists American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent American editorial cartoonists 20th-century American Jews Art Students League of New York alumni Jewish pacifists Jewish socialists Jewish women painters Jewish painters Painters from New York City Painters from Maryland