Leon Bibel
War Machine — Spanish Civil War, Anti-fascism
c. 1936

Name: War Machine — Spanish Civil War, Anti-fascism
Brand: Leon Bibel
Price: 5500 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

Leon Bibel, 'Untitled (War Machine)', brush and ink, c. 1936. Estate stamped, verso. A fine expressionist rendering, on cream wove drawing board, with margins (5/16 to 7/16 inch). Minor toning at the board edges; ink spots in the bottom margin, otherwise in very good condition. Image size 12 1/4 x 9 1/4 inches; sheet size 13 x 10 inches. Matted to museum standards, unframed. One of a series of powerful Anti-fascist brush and ink drawings created by the artist at the commencement of the Spanish Civil War. Provenance: Park Slope Gallery, Brooklyn, representing the estate of the artist. ABOUT THE ARTIST Painter, printmaker, and sculptor, Leon Bibel, was born in Poland in 1913 but moved with his family to San Francisco as a child. He trained at the California School of Fine Arts and received a scholarship to study under the German Impressionist Maria Riedelstein. He worked in collaboration with Bernard Zackheim, a student of Diego Rivera, to create frescoes for the San Francisco Jewish Community Center and the University of California Medical School. In 1936 Bibel moved from California to join the Federal Art Project of the New York City WPA. He was assigned to the Graphic Art Project and the Easel Project at Harlem Art Center. He also taught at both P.S. 94, and Bronx House, in New York City. Bibel’s program in the WPA ended in 1941, and he moved with his wife to South Brunswick, New Jersey, ceasing his artistic pursuits to support his family. He resumed his artistic work in the early 1960s and continued to explore the mediums of painting and sculpture until his death. A constant innovator, Bibel experimented with diverse printmaking mediums. His work is distinguished by its boldly conceived, dramatic composition and passionately executed expressionist renderings. Bibel's parents immigrated from Poland, and he remained staunchly pacificist, even throughout WWII. Much of his work during this period focused on the destructiveness of war and the consequent suffering and alienation of humankind. An artist of the people, his work is imbued with a sense of humanity and a concern for social justice and the plight of the working man. Bibel’s numerous exhibitions include the Newark Museum (1966, one-person); Jersey City Museum (1967); Hunterdon County Art Center, Clinton, NJ (1978); Monmouth College Art Festival (1978); Rutgers State University (1978); New Jersey State Museum (1978, one-person); Rider College, Lawrenceville, NJ (1983, one-man); Hillel Foundation of Rutgers (1985-86, one-man); Trenton State College (1985); Noyes Museum (1986); National Academy of Design (1987); Rutgers Labor Education Center (1988, one-person); Ellarslie Museum, Trenton, NJ (1990); Mercer County Community College, Trenton, NJ (1990); South Brunswick Public Library (1990-91, one-person); Hillel Foundation of Rutgers (1991); Trenton City Museum (1991); Noyes Museum (1991); Klutznick Museum, Washington, DC (1992); Joseph Gallery, Hebrew Union College (1992, one-person); National Jewish Museum (1992); and Hunterdon Art Center (1993, one-person). His work is held in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Newark Museum, the Zimmerli Art Museum of Rutgers, the Amon Carter Museum, the Dade County Museum, the Klutznick Museum, the Art Collection of the Federal Reserve Board, Rutgers State University, Rider College, Ohio University, George University, and the New Brunswick State Theater, as well as many corporate and private collections.

Creator:

Leon Bibel (1913 - 1995)

Creation Year:

c. 1936

Dimensions:

Height: 12.25 in (31.12 cm)Width: 9.25 in (23.5 cm)

Medium:

Ink

Movement & Style:

American Modern

Period:

1930-1939