How The Joint found Marc Chagall in its archives
When photo and film archivist Minda Novek spotted children waving American and Portuguese flags on the decks of the Mouzinho in 1940s footage, it led her to the discovery of the repatriation of Russian–French artist Marc Chagall to the USA.
Silent footage of Jewish artist Marc Chagall has been discovered in The Joint’s archives, confirming he was on board a refugee ship in the 1940s.
JDC, commonly known as ‘The Joint’, is the overseas rescue, relief and rehabilitation arm of the American Jewish community.
Within its archives resides an amazing global collection of documentation, artefacts and film and video available for the study of modern Jewish history.
When photo and film archivist Minda Novek spotted children waving American and Portuguese flags on the decks of the Mouzinho in 1940s footage, it led her to the discovery of the repatriation of Russian–French artist Marc Chagall to the USA. According to Novek’s analysis, the silent footage shows Jewish refugee children from Europe departing for the United States.
The ship’s passenger manifest, also found in the JDC archives, has Marc Chagall, who has ‘painter’ noted as his profession, along with his wife Bella, listed as being on board the Mouzinho. Novek scanned the footage of the refugee passengers waving to the crowds on shore and amazingly was able to pick out Chagall and his wife on the deck of the SS Mouzinho, waving and blowing kisses.
During WWII, The Joint, at its wartime headquarters in Lisbon, not only organised transit for the thousands of people on transatlantic vessels, but also supported the refugees during transit and when they landed in the USA, particularly assisting refugees without valid visas. Although all this documentation was held in the JDC Archives, it wasn’t until the digitised film was analysed by Novek that visual proof of Chagall’s voyage could be secured. Here was confirmation that The Joint had organised rescue and housing for him and the other passengers in the USA.
Chagall was born Moishe Shagal in 1887 into a Jewish family near Vitebsk (today in Belarus), but moved to Paris in 1923 following the Bolshevik Revolution. During WWII he escaped occupied France via Portugal to the United States, where he lived in New York City for seven years before retiring to France in 1948.
Throughout his long career Chagall created art that explored his Jewish identity and life in Russia. He died in 1985 and is often described as the quintessential Jewish artist of the 20th century.
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