Zundel Skaist/Skaistas/Skaistis was born in 1891 to Notel and Feiga Skaist in Ukmergė [Vilkomir], Lithuania. During the First World War, he served in the Russian army, where he learned to take photographs. He documented students at work in the ORT garden of the Skuodas [Shkod] school in 1923 [see images]. In 1927 he married Maryan Kan, a shop keeper from Skuodas, where Skaistis had founded a photography studio at no. 2 Gedimino Street. Between 1925-1928 the format of Zundel's photographs was simple, the background contained a dark linen cloth or decoration to imitate a false wall, however by 1930 this had changed to incorporate more background objects, for example, foliage. The position of the sitter also changed.[1]

The family raised three children: Jacob Lazarus, Menšu and Naomi.

In 1941 the family was murdered on Alka Hill in the Jazdai Forest.

[1] VYŠNIAUSKAS, Juozas. ‘Žinomiausias prieškario Skuodo fotografas’