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Reuven Rubin (Rubin Zelicovici) was born in Galaţi to a poor Romanian Jewish Hasidic family.

In 1912, he moved to Palestine to study at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, before moving to Paris in 1913, where he studied at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts.  During WWI, he returned to Romania.

In 1921, he went to New York City, where he met artist Alfred Stieglitz, who helped organize an a show at the Anderson Gallery. After the show, he returned to Palestine, where was a founder of the new Eretz-Yisrael style. 

In 1924, he was the first artist to hold a solo exhibition at the Tower of David and was was elected chairman of the Association of Painters and Sculptors of Palestine. Among his most noted works are the backdrops for Habima Theater, the Ohel Theater and other theaters.