Alexander Raymond Katz

Mixed Media Sculptural Painting "Unicorn" Chicago Jewish Modernist

Alexander Raymond Katz (Hungarian-American, 1895-1974) initialed l.r. "A.R.K." inscribed verso "Prayer Tree", A Raymond Katz." Sight size: 39-3/4"h x 30"w Overall: 40-3/4"h x 30-3/4"w This is done in an Abstract Expressionist style with bold enamel like paint and applied ceramic or glass iridescent mosaic tiles. Alexander Raymond Katz, Hungarian / American (1895 – 1974) Alexander Raymond Katz was born in Kassa, Hungary, and came to the United States in 1909. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. In the late 1920s, he worked as a director of the Poster Department at Paramount Studios. He was appointed the Director of Posters for the Chicago Civic Opera in 1930. A WPA muralist, illustrator and modernist painter especially known for paintings with Jewish themes and narrative American scene works. Many notable Jewish artists worked for the WPA amongst them Ben Shahn, William Gropper, Aaron Bohrod and many more. During the Great Depression, notable architect Frank Lloyd Wright urged Katz to become a muralist. In 1933, he was commissioned to paint a mural for the Century of Progress exposition in Chicago. In 1936, he painted the mural History of the Immigrant for the Madison, Ill., post office. Katz’s works were included in various exhibitions and now are part of several museum collections, including those of the Art Institute of Chicago; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; and the Jewish Museum, New York. His murals, bas-reliefs and stained glass designs adorn more than 200 Jewish synagogues in the United States. Katz and other Jewish artists in Chicago who expressed Jewish and Biblical themes were inspired by the artist Abel Pann (1883-1963). Pann, who is regarded as the leading painter of the Land of Israel, exhibited in the Art Institute of Chicago in 1920. Early in his career, Katz began to explore the artistic possibilities inherent in the characters of the Hebrew alphabet. He developed aesthetic and philosophical interpretations of each letter and became the leading innovator and pioneer in the field of Hebraic art. Katz applies this concept in the woodcut Moses and the Burning Bush. Hebrew letters appears in Moses’ head, his cane and inside the flame. The initial of Moses’ name crowns his head. The letter in the flame is the first letter of the name of God. A combination of images and Hebrew letters appeared commonly in illustrations of the scene Moses and the Burning Bush in the Haggadah, the book of Passover. The symbolism of the burning bush corresponds to the motifs of A Gift to Biro-Bidjan. Among the fourteen participating artists were notable Chicago modernists Todros Geller, Mitchell Siporin, A. Raymond Katz, David Bekker...

"First Rain at San Miguel de Allende", mixed media, acrylic and collage on canvas, signed lower left, titled, signed and dated 1984 verso, depicting a verdant tropical landscape with a pool with koi fish, in a n abstracted view with in an oak bullnose frame with burlap mat and gold liner, frame size: 53" x 37", canvas size: 48" x 32". Leonard Brooks...

An assemblage glued, painted and drawn. gossamer fragile angel or lover wings.

David Sharir was born in 1938 in Tel Aviv, Israel and currently resides there. David Sharir, the son of Russian immigrants, was born in Israel. Beginning his study of art in Tel Avi...

Mixed Media Collage Painting . signed and dated. Blindman's White Adja Yunkers b. 1900, Riga, Russia; d. 1983, New York Adja Yunkers was born Adolf...

In this artwork the artist uses the medium spontaneously .The paint has been smeared onto the surface, rather than being carefully applied. The resulting work emphasizes the physical...

Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000) Rockefeller Center, 1962 Acrylic and sand on scintilla Signed and dated lower left 25 x 20 inches Clarence Holbrook Carter achieved a ...

Abstract mixed media encaustic painting, blood orange encaustic with dark red saffron fibers on wood panel 14 x 14 x 1.5 inches, ready to hang as is Sturdy d-ring is on the back for...

Abstract encaustic painting on panel of beige spurge leaves in a decorative arrangement on white 14 x 14 inches This modern abstract encaustic painting by Allyson Levy is made with...

Amitabh Sengupta - Mask Nigeria Period , Edition 1/1 Frottage on Paper , 30 x 22 inches , 1986 Inclusive of shipment in roll form. Style : In Amitabh Sengupta's works TIME is depict...

Modern abstract assemblage sculpture painting by Mexican-born artist Juan Sanchez-Juarez. The work features a balanced composition of geometric shapes tha...

Modern abstract assemblage sculpture painting by Mexican-born artist Juan Sanchez-Juarez. The work features a central composition of geometric shapes that...