Ritov Arthur (Alter) Ritov (1909, Riga — 1987, Israel) — painter.
In 1934 Artur Ritov graduated from the Latvian Academy of Arts (figure class of Professor Ģederts Eliass), after which he continued his artistic training in Italy and France. From 1936 he was a member of the Latvian Artists’ Union and was elected to its board. He participated in numerous exhibitions in Riga, Vilnius, Kaunas (Kovno), and Moscow. His works are preserved in the collections of the Latvian Art Museum and in private collections.
From 1941 he was a prisoner of the Riga Ghetto and later of the Kaiserwald concentration camp. While in the camp he created a series of remarkable portrait drawings of ghetto prisoners, many of whom were later murdered. Ritov miraculously managed to preserve these portraits. They serve not only as a memorial to the victims, but also as works of extraordinary emotional artistic power. Part of this series was later donated to the Yad Vashem Museum in Israel.
On 29 July 1943 he escaped from the concentration camp and remained in hiding until the liberation of Riga on 13 October 1944. Shortly after the war he painted the work “Execution of Civilians at the Cemetery near Riga,” which was exhibited in museums in Riga and Moscow. He also participated in the creation of a sculptural memorial dedicated to victims of Nazism in Liepāja (Libau).
Ritov worked extensively for the publishing house VAP, illustrating books translated into Latvian, and was engaged in monumental decorative work at the “Māksla” art combine. He experienced hostile and prejudiced treatment from the authorities.
In 1971 he moved to Israel, where he continued painting and participated in solo and group exhibitions. He also worked extensively as a teacher with children.
His wife was Khaya Ritova, a singer (see separate entry). His son was Mikhail.
Literature:
Levenshtein, Meir. “Na krayu ‘nigde’” Alef, no. 177, Israel, p. 143.
Koval, L. Latvia – Israel: Crossroads of Fate. 5. Down with Weapons! Subbotniy den’, 29 April 1994, Riga.
Rivosh, Elmar. Notes. Riga, 2006.