Book Launch

ALBERT REUSS IN MOUSEHOLE: THE ARTIST AS REFUGEE
BY SUSAN SOYINKA

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 from Austria 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.  He continued to work as an artist in England, but his style changed dramatically, reflecting the trauma he had suffered.

He held numerous exhibitions in municipal galleries throughout England and in 1948, moved with his wife Rosa to Mousehole, Cornwall, where they established the ARRA Gallery. From 1953 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, the Belvedere Gallery 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 from Vienna a huge archive on Reuss, including much of his lifetime’s correspondence. A most fascinating story emerged, full of human drama and tragedy, as well as the story of an artist’s struggle to develop his art and to survive, all set against the background of world historic events.