Ezekiel and Ida Warshawsky, Orthodox Jewish immigrants from Poland who originally lived in Sharon, Pennsylvania, before settling in Cleveland, had nine children. Two, Abel (1883 1962) and Alexander (1887 1945), were especially accomplished artists. Samuel (1888-1977) was a playwright and fiction writer. David (1893-1989) was an insurance agent and writer. David's wife, Florence Haber Warshawsky (1903-1998), was a child psychologist and active Jewish community leader.
Abel Warshawsky was the first head leader of boys at Camp Wise in 1908. His brother David attended the camp under Abel's supervision and became a lifelong advocate for Camp Wise and the activities of the Council Education Alliance and its successor, the Jewish Community Center.
Abel G. Warshawsky (1883-1962) studied at the Cleveland School of Art and at the Art Students League and National Academy of Design in New York City before moving to Paris in 1908 where he lived most of the time until 1939. In 1939, Abel, also known as Abraham George, A. G. and "Buck", moved to Monterey, California. Abel Warshawsky painted landscapes and portraits in a style that, in 1953, he labeled "classic impressionism." In a 1980 article, Cleveland Plain Dealer art critic Helen Cullinan referred to Warshawsky as "perhaps the most phenomenally successful artist that Cleveland has ever produced." Over the course of his career he had more than 85 one-man shows and his work was purchased by the Cleveland Museum of Art and at least twenty other museums in America and Europe. Alexander Warshawsky (1887-1945) studied at the Cleveland School of Art and then at the National Academy of Design in New York City. In 1916 he moved to Paris; for twenty-five years much of his painting was done in Brittany and southern France. He lived the last twelve years of his life in California. Also known as Alex and Xander, he exhibited his landscapes and portraits in Paris, New York, Cleveland, Chicago, Minneapolis and Los Angeles. In 1946 the Cleveland Museum of Art presented a memorial exhibition of the works of Max Kalish and Alexander Warshawsky. Kalish, a sculptor, and Alexander Warshawsky were both Cleveland-born Jewish artists who died in 1945. Samuel Jesse Warshawsky (dates unknown) was a playwright and fiction writer as well as an advertising executive and publicity director with various motion picture firms. His play "The Woman of Destiny," was first produced in Provincetown, Massachusetts, in 1931. Among other presentations of this play, which concerned the efforts of the first woman president to prevent war, were a 1936 WPA Theater Project production. Samuel Warshawsky also served as associate editor of The Green International and was a frequent contributor to The New History, as well as to other publications.
David Warshawsky (1893-1989), insurance agent and writer, was an active member of the Cleveland, Ohio, Jewish community. He served two years as chairman of the Group Work Council of the Jewish Welfare Federation, an organization coordinating local youth recreation programs, and he was involved with Council Educational Alliance and Camp Wise. He served on the executive boards of several performing arts organizations, including the Cleveland Playhouse and the Karamu House. Warshawsky was affiliated with the Kokoon Arts Club, an association of local artists and writers, and he was an active member of the City Club of Cleveland and Rowfant Club. He worked twenty-nine years for Lincoln National Life Insurance, earning the highest sales of all agents for twenty-three years. Warshawsky wrote many unpublished works, including a biography of his brother, artist Abel G. Warshawsky (1883-1962).
The Ezekiel and Ida Warshawsky Family Photographs, ca. 1890s-ca. 1964 and undated, consist of 165 black and white photographs of varying sizes, 2 color photographs, and one photograph album.
The collection is of value to researchers studying the history of Cleveland, Ohio and the Warshawsky and Haber families. Researchers interested in images of Abel, Alexander, David, Ezekiel, and Samuel Warshawsky will find them in this collection. Those interested in the visual arts in Cleveland, the history of American impressionism, and the history of recreation and leisure in the early twentieth century will find this collection useful. Of special interest is the Camp Wise photo album of Abel Warshawsky. The collection also includes portraits from the Haber family, the family of David Warshawsky's wife, Florence. Some of the images in the collection are photographs of the paintings of Abel and Alexander Warshawsky. Researchers studying Jewish life in Cleveland will also find this collection useful. The collection depicts scenes at Cleveland's Excelsior Club.
The collection is arranged in four series. Each series is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.
The researcher should also consult MS 4591 Abel G. Warshawsky Family Papers; and MS 5008 David Warshawsky Family Papers.
Processed by Sean Martin in 2010.
None.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] PG 554 Ezekiel and Ida Warshawsky Family Photographs, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Gifts of Florence Haber Warshawsky and Elizabeth H. Warshawsky in 1990, 1991, 1997, and 1999.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.