Reuben Mednikoff

Reuben Mednikoff was born on 2 June 1906 in the East End (present-day Tower Hamlets) to a Russian Jewish family.^[2][5][6][7] Mednikoff's father, Myer Mednikoff, was a tinsmith and his mother, Hetty Mednikoff^[a], was a housewife.^[8][9] Both of Mednikoff's parents were born in Vitebsk, Russian Empire (present-day, Belarus).^[1][8][9]

In 1920, at age 14, Mednikoff enrolled at the Saint Martin's School of Art.^[1][2] Mednikoff studied illustrations for advertisements and later graduated in 1923.^[1][2]

In 1935, Mednikoff meet the painter and surgeon Grace Pailthorpe at a party.^[10]

On 14 December 1932, Mednikoff married Marie Louise De Sousa.^[2][11] De Sousa later left Mednikoff in 1933 following an affair with the artist Harold Llewellyn Botcherby.^[2] Mednikoff filed for divorce in 1934, and the divorce was finalised on 28 January 1935.^{[2][7][12][13]}