[2][3][4] Mintz was born in Ostrowiec,[a] Poland and his documented year of birth varies as 1904, 1907 and 1909.
[6] After a fellowship in Brazil, he immigrated to the United States in 1934,[6] where he spent the majority of his professional years painting in the Chicago and Los Angeles areas.
Mintz was a registered Illinois artist for the Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project during the 1930s.
His artwork, realistic in the beginning, grew more and more abstract as his career progressed, reflecting the uncertainties of life between the two world wars.
[2] He sought out surviving members of his extended family during the postwar years, advertising in European newspapers and perusing thousands of telephone book pages.