About
I am a an artist and art critic whose glasswork has been acquired by major museums and showcased in prestigious exhibitions and publications. I'm an honorary lifetime member of the Glass Art Society. I have authored two books of art criticism and been awarded NEA grants for both my artwork and critical writing. The Corning Museum of Glass’ Rakow Library houses my artist and art critic archives. "The Rabbi's Suitcase, a sweeping multi-generational saga based on fact, traces my family's journey from 1880s Lithuania to Mandatory Palestine, and 1930s depression era New York. It will be released in May 2025. Research materials and early drafts of this, my debut novel, are preserved at New York’s YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.
Featured Work
The Rabbi's Suitcase
Inspired by history and a trove of love letters, The Rabbi’s Suitcase recounts how, in the early 1880s, a battered steamship, overcrowded with Orthodox Jewish travelers, makes a treacherous journey from Lithuania to Jerusalem, the home of their patriarchs. On board, Yosef Siev, a 12-year-old mystic, is entranced with wild haired Chana. Their story is told against a backdrop of Ottoman rule, the privations of WWI, and British Mandatory uprisings.
In 1926, Yosef and Chana’s seventeen-year-old granddaughter, Zipora, enters into a forbidden relationship with Reuven, a young Lithuanian immigrant destined, as a close ally of David Ben Gurion, to become a founder of the State of Israel. The liaison extracts a heavy toll. With dreams of self-discovery and a better future for herself and her family, Zipora travels to America determined to contribute to Reuven’s studies at the Sorbonne. Conflicts arise over issues of politics, gender inequality, and fidelity, forcing heart-wrenching decisions.
Other Works
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The Rabbi's Suitcase
2025
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The Inner Light: Sculpture by Stanislav Libensky & Jaroslava Brychtova
2002
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20th Century Stained Glass: A New Definition
1992
Awards and Recognition
- Honoraary Lifetime Member, Glass Art Society (1994)
- Art Critic's Fellowship Grant, National Endowment for the Arts (1978)
- Craftmen's Fellowship Grant, National Endowment for the Arts (1977)
Press and Media Mentions
- Critique: Emotionally compelling, skillfully narrated, impressively original, "The Rabbi's Suitcase" by Robert Kehlmann is an inherently fascinating read from start to finish. One of those novels that will linger in the mind and memory of the reader long after the book has been finished and set back upon the shelf, "The Rabbi's Suitcase" is especially and unreservedly recommended for community and college/university library Historical Fiction collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that this hardcover edition of "The Rabbi's Suitcase" from Koehler Books is also readily available in paperback (9798888246979, $21.95). Editorial Note: Robert Kehlmann (www.robertkehlmann.com) is an internationally acclaimed glass artist and art critic whose glasswork has been acquired by major museums and showcased in prestigious exhibitions and publications. An honorary lifetime member of the Glass Art Society, he has authored two books of art criticism and been awarded NEA grants for
- Kehlmann presents a multi-generational historical novel based upon the migration of his Orthodox Jewish ancestors from Eastern Europe to Jerusalem and onward to New York....A poignant, informative portrait of Jewish life under Turkish and British rule before Israeli statehood.
- Beautifully Written Family Saga Robert Kehlmann's debut novel The Rabbi's Suitcase might not exactly fit its title, as said suitcase plays a marginal role, but the ancestors he writes about come vividly alive in this tender, honest and gripping story spanning 50 years, 3 generations and several continents. I can thoroughly recommend this book to all people interested in the history of Israel and Palestine, as well as in migration history between Eastern Europe, the Levant and America. It contains a glossary of Hebrew and Yiddish terms for those less savvy in these topics and strives to be inclusive of readers without lived experience in Jewish matters.
