Portraits of Wandering: An Artistic Journey from Sholem Aleichem to Bob Dylan

This article analyzes Norman Raeben's portraits and his collaborations with and influence on Jewish cultural circles in New York and Paris, from Sholem Aleichem to Bob Dylan. It provides an interdisciplinary analysis of Raeben’s evolution, situating his artistic legacy within the broader trajectories of 20th-century American and European art and cultural history. It is a result of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie research project POYESIS (Perspectives on Yiddish Cultural Evolution and Its Legacy: Visual Arts, Theatre, and Songwriting Between Assimilation and Identity. A Case Study). This research initiative employs Raeben’s body of work as a pivotal case study to investigate the transformation and adaptation of Ukrainian Yiddish culture in mid-20th-century New York, offering valuable insights into the interplay between artistic identity, cultural heritage, and assimilation.