Chasing Portraits: A Great-Granddaughter's Quest for Her Lost Art Legacy Hardcover – 6 Sep 2016

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Review Praise for "Chasing Portraits" "Chasing Portraits" is a miraculous story of heartbreaking loss and spine-tingling discovery. In her search for her great-grandfather s paintings, Elizabeth Rynecki becomes a genealogist, an art historian, a detective, a crusader for justice, and a time traveler, peering through windows and into paintings to unearth her family s past. Her memoir will break your heart, but it will have you cheering wildly too because every new discovery is a triumph of art and love over hatred and loss. Amy Stewart, " New York Times" Bestselling Author of "The Drunken Botanist" A heartfelt, vivid account of a hunt for lost masterpieces painted by a great-grandfather that prove to be unforgettable relics of a rich world swept away by war, taking readers on a lusciously detailed international journey that reminds us that the search for missing paintings is, at heart, a search for missing history. Anne-Marie O Connor, National Bestselling Author of "The Lady in Gold" Elizabeth Rynecki s "Chasing Portraits" is part of a gathering wave of stories by the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of Holocaust survivors and Holocaust victims stories that accept the burden of carrying this legacy forward, with all the anguish, the unanswered questions, and the unexpected joy of recognition this entails. With devotion and determination, Rynecki movingly demonstrates that, even after such unimaginable loss, even seventy years later, fragments of individual lives and so the untold stories of individuals can still be recovered . . . if only you keep searching. Glenn Kurtz, Author of" Three Minutes in Poland" In recent years, there has been an increase in the awareness of the problem of looted and stolen art, and "Chasing Portraits" makes an important contribution to the field. But it s much more than just a tale of detective work. Elizabeth Rynecki s story is transcendent, presenting the reader with an elevated level of passion and duty. For this reason, it sets itself apart from the rest of the field. Anthony M. Amore, Author of "Stealing Rembrandts" and "The Art of the Con"" --Various About the Author Elizabeth Rynecki is the great-granddaughter of the Polish-Jewish artist, Moshe Rynecki (1881-1943). She grew up with his paintings prominently displayed on the walls of her family home and understood from an early age that the art connected her to a legacy from the old country: Poland. In 1999, Elizabeth designed the original Moshe Rynecki: Portrait of a Life in Art website. Today, she continually updates it to keep it current regarding academic research, educational resources, and tracking lost Rynecki paintings. Elizabeth has a BA in Rhetoric from Bates College and a master s degree in Rhetoric and Speech Communications from UC Davis."