Nathan Rapoport (1911–1987) was a Warsaw-born

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

sculptor and painter, later a resident of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and then the United States.

Biography

Natan Yaakov Rapoport was born in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. In 1936, he won a scholarship to study in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. He fled to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

when the Nazis invaded Poland. The Soviets initially provided him with a studio, but then forced him to work as a manual laborer. When the war ended, he returned to Poland to study at the

Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw ( pl, Akademia Sztuk Pięknych w Warszawie) is a public university of visual arts and applied arts located in the Polish capital. The Academy traces its history back to the Department of Arts founded at the Warsaw U ...

and

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

to Israel. In 1959, he moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He lived in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

until his death in 1987.

Monumental art

His sculptures in public places, with the year they were installed in, include: * ''

Monument to the Ghetto Heroes The Monument to the Ghetto Heroes ( pl, Pomnik Bohaterów Getta) is a monument in Warsaw, Poland, commemorating the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943 during the Second World War. It is located in the area which was formerly a part of the Warsaw Ghett ...

'' (1948), bronze,

Warsaw, Poland Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-cen ...

* ''Memorial to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising'' (1976), bronze, at

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

, Jerusalem; a slightly modified replica of the Warsaw monumentElsby, Liz
''Rapoport's Memorial to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising – a Personal Interpretation''
Yad Vashem website. accessed 19 Oct 2021. ** ''The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising'', bronze ** ''The Last March'', bronze * ''Monument to Mordechai Anielewicz'' (1951), at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, IsraelMonuments in Israel Commemorating the Holocaust

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

website, 3 June 2001, accessed 19 Oct 2021. * ''Monument to Six Million Jewish Martrys'' (1964), at the

Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza The Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza is a Holocaust memorial park located at the intersection of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, 16th Street and Arch Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The plaza includes the Monument to the Six Millio ...

on Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA. * ''Scroll of Fire'' (1971) in the

Forest of the Martyrs Forest of the Martyrs ( he, יער הקדושים) (Ya'ar HaKdoshim) is a forest on the outskirts of West Jerusalem, Israel. It is on the western edge of the Jerusalem Forest near Beit Meir. It was planted as a memorial to those who died in the ...

near Jerusalem * ''

Liberation (Holocaust memorial) ''Liberation'' is a bronze Holocaust memorial created by the sculptor Nathan Rapoport, located in Liberty State Park in Jersey City, in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Officially dedicated on May 30, 1985, the monument portrays an A ...

'' (1985), bronze,

Liberty State Park Liberty State Park (LSP) is a park in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located on Upper New York Bay in Jersey City, New Jersey, Jersey City opposite Liberty Island and Ellis Island. The park opened in 1976 to coincide with United States Bicentenn ...

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Monument to the Ghetto Heroes The Monument to the Ghetto Heroes ( pl, Pomnik Bohaterów Getta) is a monument in Warsaw, Poland, commemorating the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943 during the Second World War. It is located in the area which was formerly a part of the Warsaw Ghett ...

(1948) in

, west side Image:Pomnik Bohaterow Getta 013.jpg, Warsaw monument, east side Image:Pomnik Bohaterow Getta 002.jpg, Menorah from the Warsaw monument Image:'The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising', bronze sculpture by Natan J. Rapoport, 1947, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, Israel.jpg, ''The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising'' (1976), bronze,

Jerusalem, Israel Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Image:'The Last March', bronze sculpture by Natan Yaakov Rapoport (1911-77), Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, Israel.jpg, ''The Last March'' (1976), bronze, part of the

memorial to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Image:Mord-ani.jpg, ''Monument to Mordechai Anielewicz'' (1951) at

Yad Mordechai Yad Mordechai ( he, יַד מָרְדְּכַי, ''lit.'' Memorial of Mordechai) is a kibbutz in Southern Israel. Located 10 km (6.2 mi) south of Ashkelon, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof Ashkelon Regional Council. In it had a popula ...

, Israel Image:Rapoport negba.jpg, Kibbutz

Negba Negba ( he, נֶגְבָּה) is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the northern Negev desert near the cities of Kiryat Malakhi and Ashkelon, it falls under the jurisdiction of Yoav Regional Council. In it had a population of . The name of ...

, memorial to the participants in the 1948 battles Image:Scrollsoffire.JPG, '' Scroll of Fire'' (1971),

near

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

References

External links

* * Rapaport's works i
Central Jewish Library
* *
POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rapoport, Nathan Jewish sculptors Polish sculptors Polish male sculptors Polish emigrants to Israel Israeli emigrants to the United States 1911 births 1987 deaths Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw alumni 20th-century sculptors Burials at Segula Cemetery

Biography

Monumental art

References

Further reading

External links