František Reichentál

František Reichentál (May 6, 1895 – April 2, 1971), also known as Frank/Ferenc, Reichenthal/Reichen-tal, was a Jewish Eastern European modern artist. He is known for paintings depicting his experiences of childhood poverty, captivity as a prisoner of war in Russia, escape from the Nazis, and finally fleeing from the Communists to start over in the United States.

Early life Reichentál was born in Lehnice (Velky Leg), Austria-Hungary, the son of Janos Reichentál and Fanny Weinberger. He had one sister and one brother. He attended Grammar School in Bratislava and Győr.

World War I In 1916, he served in the Austro-Hungarian Army, where he was captured by the Russians and sent to prisoner of war camp. In addition to disrupting his studies, the war years took the lives of both his brother and father. He spent the October Revolution in 1917 in captivity.

Education and early career Despite the war ending in 1918, Reichentál was not allowed to leave Russia. Captured officers were being held at the time by Russia as hostages for the release of Hungarian Communists. He was, however, given permission to study. From 1917 to 1919, he taught at art schools in Irkutsk. Between 1920 and 1921, he enrolled at the Petrograd Art Academy and studied under V. V. Belyayev. After Petrograd, Reichentál painted and taught art with Marc Chagall. Their daughter, Mary, was born two years later. By 1938, his work was included in an exhibition of Slovak works in New York.

World War II German troops were stationed in Slovakia beginning in March 1939. For their safety, Reichentàl and his family moved to Hungary. Such works as "The Lone Survivor", "Gas", "The Arrival", and a portfolio of 16 drawings, entitled "Arbeit Macht Frei" depicted the barbarity of the Nazi holocaust. His artistic style moved from cubism to abstract modernism, including collages and bright oil paintings. He held a number of exhibitions towards the end of his life, in New York, Miami, Chicago, Austria, Germany, Vienna, Dresdon, Paris, Toronto, and Israel. Reichentál died in New York on April 2, 1971. After his death, his works continued to be sold to collectors and auctioned. He has had posthumous exhibitions in New York and two in Bratislava, in 1992 and 2013. His work is currently in several museums and private collections. The most recent exhibition of his work was in early 2013 at the Bratislava City Gallery.

Museums with the works of František Reichentál (partial list)

National Museum & Museum of Jewish Culture, Bratislava National Gallery, Prague Bratislava City Gallery, Bratislava Slovak National Gallery, Bratislava Eastern Slovakia Gallery, Kosice Holocaust Museum & Educational Center, Glen Cove, New York Jewish Museum, New York, New York Museum of Modern Art, Miami, Florida Museum of Western Art, Moscow