Albert Reuss in Mousehole: The Artist as Refugee

This is the compelling account of the life and work of Albert Reuss (1889-1975), a Jewish painter and sculptor who developed a uniquely individual style. Born in Vienna, he emigrated to England in 1938 following Hitler’s annexation of Austria. In the process, Reuss lost many members of his family, as well as all his possessions, and the reputation he had built up as an artist in Vienna prior to his departure. Many of his artworks were confiscated by the Nazis. He and his wife Rosa were helped to escape from Vienna by Cornishman and Quaker, John Sturge Stephens. Reuss continued to work as an artist in England, but his style changed dramatically, reflecting the trauma he had suffered. Following his exile, Reuss held numerous solo exhibitions in municipal galleries throughout England and in 1948, he and Rosa moved to Mousehole, Cornwall, where they established the ARRA Gallery. From 1953 to 1973 he held regular one-man shows at the renowned O’Hana Gallery in London. Several provincial galleries hold his work, most notably Newlyn Art Gallery in Cornwall, as do the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Belvedere Gallery and the Albertina in Vienna, and the Tel Aviv Museum of Art in Israel. In researching the life of this intriguing man, Susan Soyinka interviewed many people who knew him, and also retrieved a huge archive on Reuss from Vienna, which included much of his lifetime’s correspondence. A most fascinating story emerged of this lonely and isolated artist's struggle to develop his art and to survive, a story full of human drama and tragedy, all set against the background of world historic events. The book includes first-hand accounts of the couple’s escape from Vienna, and of their experience as refugees in war-time Britain.

Table of Contents:
FOREWORD by John Halkes; INTRODUCTION; CHAPTER 1: EARLY LIFE AND MARRIAGE: VIENNA 1889-1922; A troubled childhood; On meeting Rosa; An historical footnote; CHAPTER 2: ARTISTIC DEVELOPMENT: VIENNA 1922-1938; A rising star; On becoming a sculptor; First journey to England in 1935; Reviews and commentary in the Viennese press; CHAPTER 3: FLIGHT FROM VIENNA 1938: Nazi Germany and the Anschluss; A Cornish Schindler; On leaving Möllwaldplatz 3; The fate of other members of the Reiss family; CHAPTER 4: THE FIRST TEN YEARS IN ENGLAND: Arrival in England; A new life in St Mawes; The Cheltenham years; CHAPTER 5: AND FINALLY TO MOUSEHOLE: The village of Mousehole; Ruth Adams; A tragic loss; ARRA; CHAPTER 6: PROVINCIAL EXHIBITIONS: REVIEWS AND COMMENTARY: Early reviews in England; The view from the North; Other commentary; CHAPTER 7: THE ARTIST AND THE ART DEALER: REUSS’S RELATIONSHIP WITH JACQUES O’HANA: The introduction; An unusual friendship; The 1966 exhibition; The later years; The beginning of international recognition; CHAPTER 8: THE LONDON EXHIBITIONS: REVIEWS AND COMMENTARY: The view from the South; Other commentary; CHAPTER 9: THE STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE: A display of brotherly love; Compensation and restitution; `My creative powers have been severely impaired’; `Albert is not quite of sound mind’; CHAPTER 10: ROSA: `The world should know of the great wife of an artist’; Rosa’s letters to Albert; On matters of health; CHAPTER 11: LIFE WITHOUT ROSA: The role of friends in Mousehole; Albert’s friendship with Dr Robert Senior; Sylvio’s visits; A new friend in the art world; CHAPTER 12: ALBERT’S ATTEMPTS TO SECURE HIS LEGACY: Correspondence with Dr Hans Aurenhammer; Correspondence with Dr Ingo Mussi; CHAPTER 13: ALBERT’S FINAL HURRAH; EPILOGUE: THE ESTATE OF ALBERT REUSS; APPENDIX 1: A NOTE ON TRANSLATION; APPENDIX 2: LIST OF ALBERT REUSS’S EXHIBITIONS; APPENDIX 3: REUSS’S WORKS IN PUBLIC COLLECTIONS; APPENDIX 4: LIOBA REDDEKER: A TRIBUTE; NOTES; LIST OF FIGURES; LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS; BIBLIOGRAPHY; ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS; CREDITS; INDEX

About the Author :
Susan Soyinka has worked as a teacher, lecturer and researcher, spending ten years of her early career in West Africa. On her return to England, she retrained as an educational psychologist, and after discovering her Jewish roots, worked for nine years in the Jewish community in London. Retirement has given her the time and energy to develop a new career as a writer. Her first book, “From East End to Land’s End, The Evacuation of Jews’ Free School, London, to Mousehole in Cornwall during World War Two” was described by Aumie Shapiro, author of the Jewish East End photographic series, as an `extraordinary, significant story of inter-faith and community harmony. A magnificent achievement.’ Her second book, “A Silence That Speaks, A Family Story Through and Beyond the Holocaust” about her Viennese Jewish family history, received an award in 2014 from the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain (JGSGB) for an outstanding publication.

Review :
“It's fascinating, utterly readable and I’ve learnt a lot about, of course, the painter whose work fills our store, but also details of life in Austria and Britain at those times.” Blair Todd, Exhibition Curator, Newlyn Art Gallery; “His story deserves our attention, especially in this current age of global refugees, and acute political issues of asylum and racial identity.” John Halkes, Director, Newlyn Orion Galleries, 1974-1990.