Reuven Rubin (nee Zelicovici) was born in 1893 in Galatz, Roumania. He painted from childhood and came to Jerusalem in 1912 in order to study at the Bezalel Art Academy. A year later he continued to Paris, then the art capital of the world, in order to pursue his art studies. After W.W.I he traveled to America, exhibited in 1921 in New York and in 1923 returned to Palestine to settle. He was soon recognized as one of the leading pioneer artists in the country. His depictions of the local landscapes and the people, Arabs and Jews alike, reflect the Zionist enthusiasm of those early years.