Stanley Neal Kaufman
SGT in 603rd Engineer Camouflage Bn : Co D, 4th Platoon
ASN#12142220
Born 1921 in MA, Died 2008
Artist
County of residence at enlistment: New York County, NY
Other residence(s): Springfield, MA; New York, NY; Riverdale, NY
United States Army, European Theatre of Operations
Occupation before the war: artists, sculptors, and teachers of art
College education before the war: Pratt 3 years
College education after the war: Pratt; Art Students League
Stanley Kaufman was born on June 24, 1921 in Springfield MA, the younger of two sons. His father was a car salesman; his mother was an assistant buyer in women's clothing. She, and all four of Stanley's grandparents, had been born in Russia.
Stanley graduated from Classical High School in Springfield in 1939, where he played basketball and was a member of the yearbook staff. His yearbook quote prefigured his career as an artist: "The perfection of art is to conceal art."
He moved to New York to study art at Pratt Institute, where he spent three years before the war intervened. He registered for the draft on February 15, 1942 and enlisted on September 11, 1942. Like dozens of other Pratt art students, he was assigned to the 603rd Engineer Camouflage Battalion, and saw service in Europe with the unit.
After the war he returned to New York where he finished his degree at Pratt and also studied at the Art Students League. He became a well-known portrait artist and illustrator and worked independently for some years.
On May 18, 1949 he married New Yorker Wini Marilyn Gray; they honeymooned in Mexico and Cuba. They would go on to become the parents of three children: Laurie, Chaya, and Adam, and to make their home in Riverdale, NY, a residential neighborhood of the Bronx.
In 1961, Stanley joined Clairol/Bristol Myers Squibb as a graphic design artist. He spent 22 years there, and then worked independently until 1997.
He was a sports fan and an avid golfer.
Stanley died on February 4, 2008 and was buried at Mt. Ararat Cemetery in Farmingdale, NY.
Photo:
1939 yearbook (see below; clipping attached)
Sources:
1930 census
1939 yearbook photo and info, Classical HS, Springfield MA
1942 draft card
1942 enlistment record
1949 marriage record (obtained wife's name from ancestry family tree)
1949 marriage announcement in Springfield Daily News (MA); photograph of article on ancestry.com (could not find original article)
2008 obituary in The Riverdale Press (NY)
https://riverdalepress.com/stories/stanley-kaufman-noted-artist-dies-at-86,27449
2008 Social Security death index
2008 VA death record
2008 Find a Grave record
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/80631030/stanley-kaufman