20 Facts About Raphael Soyer

Raphael Zalman Soyer was a Russian-born American painter, draftsman, and printmaker.

Raphael Soyer is identified as a Social Realist because of his interest in men and women viewed in contemporary settings which included the streets, subways, salons and artists' studios of New York City.

Raphael Soyer wrote several books on his life and art.

Raphael Soyer and his identical twin brother, Moses, were born in Borisoglebsk, Tambov, a southern province of Russia, on December 25,1899.

Raphael Soyer pursued his art education at the free schools of the Cooper Union between 1914 and 1917, studying alongside his twin Moses.

Raphael Soyer continued his studies at the National Academy of Design from 1918 until 1922 and, subsequently, at the Art Students League of New York intermittently between 1920 until 1926.

Raphael Soyer painted a vast number of self-portraits throughout his career.

Raphael Soyer was adamant in his belief in representational art and strongly opposed the dominant force of abstract art during the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Raphael Soyer was a member of the Society of American Graphic Artists.

Raphael Soyer's teaching career began at the John Reed Club, New York, in 1930 and included stints at the Art Students League, the New School for Social Research and the National Academy.

Raphael Soyer was an artist of the Great Depression, and during the 1930s, Raphael and his brother Moses engaged in Social Realism, demonstrating empathy with the struggles of the working class.

Raphael Soyer deeply admired fellow American artist Thomas Eakins, and produced a group portrait entitled Homage to Thomas Eakins, which was based on Fantin-Latour's Hommage a Delacroix.

Raphael Soyer was hired in 1940, along with eight other prominent American artists, to document dramatic scenes and characters during the production of the film The Long Voyage Home, a cinematic adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's plays.

Raphael Soyer illustrated two books for Isaac Bashevis Singer, entitled A Little Boy in Search of God and Love and Exile.

Raphael Soyer died from cancer at the age of 87 in his home in New York City on November 4,1987.

Raphael Soyer is buried at Acacia Cemetery in Queens, New York.

Raphael Soyer's work is included in many public museum collections including the Butler Institute of American Art, the National Gallery of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, Hirshhorn Museum, among others.

On February 8,1931, Raphael Soyer married Rebecca Letz, who was friends with his sister Fanny.

Raphael Soyer was a close friend of Arshile Gorky and his wife Agnes, whom he painted while pregnant.

In 1953, Raphael Soyer co-founded the magazine Reality: A Journal of Artists' Opinions, published by figurative artists as a response to the prevailing influence of non-objective art.