1960s Figurative Paintings

Anita Roy Chowdhury - Untitled Charcoal on Paper 10 x 15 inches, 1960 (Framed & Delivered) Anita’s charcoal drawing gracefully captures a quiet, introspective moment of a woman abso...

Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000) Cicada, c. 1960s Watercolor on scintilla 30 x 20 inches Clarence Holbrook Carter achieved a level of national artistic success that wa...

Three Dancers (60) John F. Leonard American (1921–1987) Date: circa 1965 Oil on Board Size: 14 in. x 24 in. (35.56 cm x 60.96 cm) Frame Size: 17.5 x 28 inches

Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000) Seeing Egg No. 2, 1965 Acrylic and collage on scintilla Signed and dated upper right 30 x 22 inches 34 x 29 inches, framed A surrealis...

FRANCOIS CHABRIER “”AU CAFE" OIL ON CANVAS, SIGNED FRANCE, C.1960 32.5 X 39.5 INCHES Framed 41 x 48 inches. François Chabrier Born 1916 François Chabrier was born in 1916 in Bel...

Wonderful mid century impasto seascape of Brittany fishing boats on the water by Walter Prescher van Ed (German/French, 1916-1988), circa 1960. ...

This is a bright, colorful modernist oil painting of a vase of Flowers A great floral work. George Chemeche was born in Basra, Iraq in 1934 He emigrated to Israel and studied at th...

Scottie Wilson, born Louis Freeman was a Scottish, Jewish, outsider artist known particularly for his highly detailed style. Starting his artistic career at the age of 44, his work w...

March Avery Taking in the Nets, 1967 Signed, titled and dated on the stretcher Oil on canvas 16 x 22 inches March Avery was born in New York in 1932 to painters Milton Avery and Sally Michel. Guided by her famous father, she began painting as a child—although as she would tell it, “I think I was painting in utero.” She had her first solo exhibition in 1963. Now in her late eighties, the artist continues to work six days a week in her lifelong neighborhood, Greenwich Village. Avery’s oil paintings, sketches, and watercolors carry forward certain stylistic characteristics of the family oeuvre, what art historian Robert Hobbs...

Seated Woman (20) John F. Leonard American (1921–1987) Date: circa 1965 Oil on Board Size: 15 in. x 12 in. (38.1 cm x 30.48 cm)

Fanciful mid-century modern abstract of trapeze artists by Brooklyn artist Hilda Dora Pape Arp (b. 1909). This 1962 highly abstracted depiction of trape...

Wonderful pulp art figurative portrait of a brunette woman in formal yellow evening gown with gloves by unknown California artist, circa 1960s. Unsigned. Acqu...

Bay Area figurative painting of a nude woman looking over her shoulder by Thomas L. Tribby (American, b. 1944). Signed and dated "Tribby 66" in the lower right corner. Unframed, but the edges are painted black for a frame-less display. Canvas size: 37.5"H x 33.5"W. Bay area figurative artist and painted while at the University of California, Berkeley, CA – Bachelor of Arts, 1963-1966. Thomas Tribby (American, b. 1944) is an internationally known artist who has participated in solo and group exhibitions in the United States and Europe. He works in a variety of media, including watercolor, acrylic, and oil. Tribby has gallery representation in Florida and his paintings have been featured in articles in Waterfront Home and Design and Architectural Digest. Tribby has participated in juried and invitational shows in Florida, California, Arizona, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington, D.C., and New York, and in Paris, France. In December 2007, Tribby had the honor of being one of nine painters in the American Delegation at Le Salon des Beaux Arts de la Société Nationale des Beaux Arts exhibition, known as the Paris Salon, at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris, where his painting, Lifeguard, was exhibited. In January 2008 Tribby received from the Design Center of the Americas, DCOTA, the prestigious Stars of Design award in the category of Art. Tribby lives and works in West Palm Beach, Florida. EDUCATION 1961-1963 University of Washington, Seattle, WA Studies in Fine Arts 1963-1966 University of California, Berkeley, CA – Bachelor of Arts 1969-1970 Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, Grad Studies, MFA Program 1979-1980 Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, Grad Studies, MFA Program GROUP EXHIBITIONS: INVITATIONAL OR JURIED 2014 Monochrome, Palm Beach Cultural Council, Lake Worth, FL 2010 Spectrum 2010, The Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, TN 2010 Studio 1608 Group Show, West Palm Beach, FL 2008 Florida Original Contemporary Art, West Palm Beach, FL 2007 Paris Salon, Carrousel du Louvre, Paris, France 2005 Liman Gallery, Palm Beach, FL 2003 Grand Bank and Trust, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 2003 Aaron Gallery, Washington D.C. 2001 The Retreat, Artists Against Abuse, Southampton, NY 2000, 2003-2004 Palm Street Art Studios, West Palm Beach, FL 1996 Studio 412, Group Show, West Palm Beach, FL 1992, 1994 Small Works Show, Armory Arts Center, WPB, FL ONE MAN EXHIBITIONS 2018 Armand Bolling Fine Arts, Jupiter, FL 2012, 2016 Ellis-Nicholson Gallery...

Solitary Mister 1964 Oil on canvas 52 x 38 inches (132.1 x 96.5 cm) This work is offered by CLAMP in New York City.

A strong modernist oil painting depicted in 1971 by Russian painter Michael Baxte. Mostly known for his abstracted figures on canvas or street scenes, this piece is a wonderful representation of his landscape paintings, with expressive use of color, shape, and form. Later in his career, Baxte explores Expressionism, infusing both European and North American stylistic trends. This piece is from later in his career, but we can feel this underlying style throughout. Art measures 18 x 21.75 inches Michael Posner Baxte was born in 1890 in the small town of Staroselje Belarus, Russia. For the first half of the 19th century it was a center of the Chabad movement of Hasidic Jews, but this group was gone by the middle of the 19th century. By the time the Baxte family immigrated to the United States at the beginning of the 20th century, the Jewish population numbered only on the hundreds. The native language of the Baxte family was Yiddish. It is likely that the death of Michael Baxte’s father triggered the family’s immigration. Three older brothers arrived in New York between 1903 and 1905. Michael and his mother, Rebecca, arrived in 1907. By 1910 Michael, his mother, and brother, Joseph, were living in New Orleans and may have spent some time on a Louisiana plantation. Around 1912, Michael Baxte returned to Europe to study the violin. In 1914 he, his mother, and Joseph moved to New York City. Meanwhile, in Algeria, a talented young woman painter, Violette Mege, was making history. Since for the first time, a woman won the prestigious Beaux Art competition in Algeria. At first, the awards committee denied her the prize but, with French government intervention, Mege eventually prevailed. She won again 3 years later and, in 1916, used the scholarship to visit the United States of America. When Violette came to New York, she met Baxte, who was, by then, an accomplished violinist, teacher, and composer. Baxte’s compositions were performed at the Tokyo Imperial Theater, and in 1922 he was listed in the American Jewish Yearbook as one of the prominent members of the American Jewish community. As a music teacher he encouraged individual expression. Baxte stated, “No pupil should ever be forced into imitation of the teacher. Art is a personal experience, and the teacher’s truest aim must be to awaken this light of personality through the patient light of science.” By 1920 Michael Baxte and Violette Mege were living together in Manhattan. Although they claimed to be living as husband and wife, it seems that their marriage did not become official until 1928. On their “unofficial” honeymoon around 1917, in Algiers, Baxte confided to her his ambition to paint. There and later in New Mexico where the wonderful steeped sunlight approximates the coloring of Algiers, she taught him his heart’s desire. He never had any other teacher. She never had any other pupil. For ten years she devoted all her time, energy, and ambition to teaching, encouraging, inspiring him. Then in 1928, their mutual strivings were rewarded, as his works were being chosen as one of the two winners in the Dudensing National Competition for American Painters. Out of 150 artists from across the country participated in the Dudensing, and Michael Posner Baxte and, Robert Fawcett, were the winners. In his 1924 naturalization application, he indicated that he was sometimes known as “Michael Posner Baxte.” One of the witnesses to his application was Bernard Karfiol, a Jewish American artist. That’s when Michael may...

Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000) Chromatic, 1965 Acrylic and collage on scintilla Signed and dated upper right 30 x 22 inches A surrealist mid-century figural abstrac...

The Circus, The Party Is Here! Oil on board signed bottom left Patrick Franc and dated 1962 Dimensions: 50 x 65 cm ( 19.685 x 25.591 inches) Dimensions with frame: 56 x 71 x 1 c...

This painting is in excellent condition with no cracks in the paint, it is not relined and the canvas has been cleaned and in excellent condition. It also has a new 23 K. gold leaf ...

Nativity Scene (5) by John F. Leonard, American (1921–1987) Date: circa 1965 Oil on Canvas (unsigned) Size: 25 in. x 40 in. (63.5 cm x 101.6 cm)

Wonderful mid century portrait of woman named Charlotte by Irinia Belotelkin Roublon (Russian/American, 1913 - 2009), circa 1960. Signed lower right corner and on verso. Unframed. Image size: 14"H x 11"W. Irina Belotelkin Roublon, née Roudakoff, was born in Elisavetgrad, Ukraine to the Russian noblesse ancienne, descendant of Catherine the Great, she was a student at the Mariinsky Noble Ladies' Institute , Novocherkassk, Russia. She was orphaned at the time of the Russian Civil War after her father, General Paul Roudakoff, was fatally wounded in battle; 5 days later her mother died of typhus. Still unaware of her parents' death, and after witnessing her two sisters' deaths from starvation, the young Irina, then 8 years old, made her way over 1,000 kilometers, alone and through many privations to Moscow and the Estonian embassy there, with whom her Estonian uncle Volodya Blonsky had made arrangements. After a year in Moscow, and appeals to the Estonian consul, Irina was aided in a dramatic escape from the Soviet Union, to her aunt Anna Blonsky Lassburg (1882–1940) and her husband Doctor Genrick Lassburg in Tallinn, Estonia. Eventually, after in 1929, traveling through Ellis Island and admitted as a student, of voice studies, she joined her brother who had settled, in 1923, in the United States. Irina came to San Francisco during the Second World War, Among Irina's devotions were ballet and opera. She often entertained friends Rudolf Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Sergei Leiferkus when they were in town. Natalia Makarova and Yuri Possokhov were often guests at Irina's Russian Christmas and Easter parties. From the early 1960s through the late 1980s, Irina studied and prolifically created still life and portrait paintings in oil and water color, excelling in flower compositions. She held studio and feature exhibitions; she competed and won prizes. Her work is in holdings throughout the San Francisco Bay area, Europe and Russia. In 1965 she undertook private study with two prominent Russian painters, including Serge Ivanoff; she executed a portrait of her two masters. She cherished her portrait as executed by Serge Ivanoff. Among her most accomplished pieces are those of iris and the large white Matilija...

Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000) Icon Mandala, 1967 Acrylic on paper Signed and dated lower right 30 x 22 inches Clarence Holbrook Carter achieved a level of national ...

Original oil on canvas of a beautiful girl wearing a summer hat seated at a table overlooking the water. Signed lower right. Condition is excellent. Done in a post impressionist st...

Lazzaro Donati (Italian, 1926-1977) Oil on board. Colorful woman. La Signora, Vestita Di Giallo, 1969 Hand signed upper right. signed, titled on back of panel. Dimensions: (Frame) H 38" x W 30", (Panel) H 28" x W 20" Lazzaro Donati was born in Florence and attended the Academy of Fine Arts. He began to paint in 1953, and in 1955 held his first exhibition at the Indiano Gallery in Florence. Within three years eleven exhibitions followed in Italy, and as his reputation grew he was invited to give major exhibitions in London, Paris, New York, Chicago, Rio de Janeiro and Montevideo. He is considered one of the foremost contemporary Italian painters and his paintings hang in museums and private collections throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. His work is recalling the works of the french Raoul Dufy, Dunoyer de Segonzac, Francois Gall and Jean Jansem. This particular work is reminiscent of the work of Manolo Valdes. Donati lived and worked at 24 Piazza Donatello in Florence, the square where generations of artists have created works worthy of the great Florentine tradition. As you entered the narrow hallway to his studio, a gilded life-size Venetian angel beckoned you to his door. Once inside, the present faded away and you found yourself in an atelier where early masters might have worked during the Renaissance. Within, luxurious Persian rugs set off the innumerable objects d’art and antique furnishings...

A wonderful French impressionist landscape of children playing in a playground somewhere in the South of France. The earliest work by the artist is from the late 1960s and this piece...

"Audience" Mid 20th Century American Figurative Theatre Performance Contemporary Leon Bibel (1912 - 1995) "The Audience," 52 ½ x 41 ¼ inches. Oil on canvas, c. 1963. Signed lower right. Framed. BIO Painter, printmaker and sculptor, Leon Bibel was born in San Francisco in 1913. 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 at Harlem Art...

Compelling figurative study in gouache and pencil by Joesph Capozio (American, 1928-2016). Estate stamp lower right corner with bio on verso. Presented in mahogany wood frame. Framed size: 19"H x 17"W. Capozio was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1927. After serving in World War II, he attended art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He lived and worked in San Francisco, California; New Orleans, Louisiana; Siesta Key...

The Graduate (40) John F. Leonard American (1921–1987) Date: circa 1965 Oil on Board Size: 22 in. x 15 in. (55.88 cm x 38.1 cm)

EMILIO GRAU SALA Spanish, 1911 - 1975 ROND-POINT DES CHAMPS-ÉLYSÉES signed "Grau Sala" (lower left) signed, located and dated "GRAU SALA / PARIS 1967" (on the reverse) oil on canvas ...

Oil on wooden panel realized by Sirio Pellegrini in 1960s. Sirio Pellegrini, born in Rome on March 1, 1922, of Abruzzo origins (Capestrano), spent his childhood years in Rome, in th...

Oil on wooden panel realized by Sirio Pellegrini in 1960s. Sirio Pellegrini, born in Rome on March 1, 1922, of Abruzzo origins (Capestrano), spent his childhood years in Rome, in th...

A dymanic mid century abstract expressionist painiting with geometric shapes in cool tones and two figures by Leslie Luverne Anderson (American, 1928-2009). Oil on masonite. Titled "...

La Rue (The Street) Charles Levier, French (1920–2003) Date: circa 1965 Oil on Canvas, signed l.l. Size: 30 x 24 in. (76.2 x 60.96 cm) Frame Size: 37.5 x 32.5 inches

Striking and colorful mid century Fauvist portrait of a man by Sydney Helfman (American, 1926-2010). The expressive and vibrant color palette, a signatu...

Mid Century Figurative Landscape - The Search A dreamlike landscape by Winifred Lucy Shaffer (American, 20th Century). Several figures are clustered together in a forest setting. Th...

Snow , woods,grey withe LEONID VAICHLIA (St. Petersburg, 1922) Works by Leonid Vaichlia can be found in various private collections in Europe, Japan, United States and in the follo...

This vertical format abstract painting by Modernist artist Stanley Bate measures at 26" x 50" framed. The original gold-hued floater frame pulls out the vibrant and warm pops of yell...

Joseph Glasco (American, 1925-1996) Seated Male, 1969 Ink on paper Signed and dated lower right 25 x 19.5 inches 27.5 x 22 inches, framed Joseph Glasco was born in Paul’s Valley, Okl...

Figure in the shadow is an original modern artwork realized by N. Gattamelata in 1968. Mixed colored oil on canvas Includes frame Hand signed and dated on the back.

A beautiful impressionist oil painting of a small Slovakian lakeside village with vibrant green mountains and red-roofed homes in the foreground. Unsigned. Unframed. Image, 30"H x 24"L.

Introducing a beautifully gripping post-war oil painting by British artist Joseph Duncan. Within this intense expressionistic work, the powerful use of c...

Les Soeurs (The Sisters) Charles Levier, French (1920–2003) Date: circa 1965 Oil on Canvas, signed l.r. Size: 24 x 30 in. (60.96 x 76.2 cm) Frame Size: 29.5 x...

Dancers in Veils (56) John F. Leonard American (1921–1987) Date: circa 1960 Oil on Board Size: 20 in. x 16 in. (50.8 cm x 40.64 cm) Frame Size: 26 x 22 inches

Figure with Hands Raised (17) John F. Leonard American (1921–1987) Date: circa 1965 Oil on Board (Double-Sided) Size: 18 in. x 10 in. (45.72 cm x 25.4 cm)

Crucifixion (36) John F. Leonard American (1921–1987) Date: 1964 Oil on Board, signed Size: 21.5 in. x 15 in. (54.61 cm x 38.1 cm)

Still life with peonies 1969, plywood, oil, 68x59 cm

One of a kind painting by Noche Crist (1909- 2004). Noche Crist was an American artist born in Romania. Painting is made with casein on plaster on wood. Catalogue of a postumous ret...

Musicians (7) by John F. Leonard, American (1921–1987) Date: circa 1965 Oil on Canvas (unsigned) Size: 23 in. x 47 in. (58.42 cm x 119.38 cm)

SALE ONE WEEK ONLY “Untitled” painted in India Ink of two heads was done during what has been call Lester Johnson’s Dark Paintings of the 1960s. In 2013 John Yau wrote with much insight about that period of Johnson’s work - “Lester Johnson (1919-2010) was an innovative figurative painter who has never quite fit into any of the accepted narratives of postwar American art, and that alone makes his work worthy of a longer look. The 1960s was an explosively turbulent era marked by assassinations, race riots, space flights, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Beatles’ and Rolling Stones’ first American tours, and the rapidly escalating Vietnam War. Everyone was wary and on edge. Meanwhile, in the New York art world, all eyes were fixated on the rise and triumph of Pop Art, Minimalism and Color Field painting. Johnson was one of the few artists that attuned to the dismay that everyone was feeling during the violent and schizophrenic time, the sense that it could all come crashing down. However, his work was never overtly political or didactic. While his dark, brooding, monochromatic paintings of anonymous men gained a small and loyal following, they also became part of that largely invisible history of a time when New York was a tough scary and exciting place to be. More than fifty years after they were made, Johnson’s Dark Paintings continue to retain a coarseness that we associate with gestural Abstract Expressionism and Jean Dubuffet’s anti-psychological, anti-personal portraits incorporating sand and gravel. One sees in them the antecedents of Joyce Pensato’s gestural exaggerations of Groucho Marx, Homer Simpson and Minnie Mouse. While Pensato brings an infectious humor to her work, Johnson was more somber. I cannot help but think that both these artists chose their bedraggled subjects out of empathy and a trace of identification.” Lester Johnson, was born in 1919 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He attended Minneapolis School of Art, where he studied under Alexander Masley who was a former student of Hans Hofmann. Johnson continued his artistic career in New York City where he opened his first studio on 6th and Avenue A. His neighbor there was fellow painter Wolf Kahn. During his time there he would share a loft with Larry Rivers and married the art historian Josephine Valenti. In 1961 he briefly taught at Ohio State University before returning to New York City to share a studio with Philip Pearlstein. Jack Tworkov would invite Johnson to teach at Yale, an offer that Lester Johnson would accept and spend the rest of his life in Connecticut. Johnson passed away in 2010. Johnson's work has been exhibited in the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, the Wadsworth Atheneum, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The Walker Art Center, the Yale University Art Gallery, the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Chrysler Museum of Art, the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Museum of Art, the Rhode Island School of Design, the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, the Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. This work has been framed inside of a custom frame with museum glass...

Predominantly recognized as a self-taught painter, he also worked in architectural murals, sculptures, ceramics, prints and drawings. Vigas is one...

Richard Andres (American, 1927–2013) Untitled, 1968 acrylic on canvas signed lower right, signed and titled verso 88.5 x 50.5 inches Has an indent and a tear in the canvas. See phot...

Oil on paper laid down to board Signed William Brown date 1961 below right Provenance Felix Landau Gallery LA Andre Previn Private Collection Painted in 1961 the year East German ...

Predominantly recognized as a self-taught painter, he also worked in architectural murals, sculptures, ceramics, prints and drawings. Vigas is one...

'Snow in Provence', oil on board, by Yves Brayer (circa 1960s). A rare and atmospheric landscape by Yves Brayer, capturing an exceptional moment in the Provençal countryside. Snow in...

Nude 1960s. Oil on canvas. 60x73 cm "Nude" is a captivating and elegant artwork that celebrates the female form in a tasteful and artistic manner. Through skillful brushwork, the artist aims to convey the woman's beauty and allure, inviting viewers to appreciate the timeless fascination and artistic exploration of the nude human figure. Aleksandra Belcova...

EMILIO GRAU SALA Spanish, 1911 - 1975 PADDOCK signed "Grau Sala" (lower right) oil on canvas 21-1/3 x 25-1/2 inches (54 x 65 cm.) framed: 27-1/2 x 32 inches (70 x 81 cm.) PROVENANCE...

Artist: LeRoy Neiman, American (1921 - 2012) Title: Dick Tiger Year: 1967 Medium: Acrylic on Paper, signed and dated l.r. Size: 26 in. x 44 in. (66.04 cm x 111.76 cm) Frame Size...

In the "Fantasy/Metaphysical" series by American artist Eugene Hawkins, the convergence of surrealism and metaphysics unfolds as an exploration of existential themes common to all. C...

Diana Kurz Red Chair, 1962 Signed, titled, dated on verso Oil on canvas 53 x 41 1/2 inches Diana Kurz (born 1936) is an Austrian-born feminist painter. In 1938, Diana Kurz's family...

Lazzaro Donati (Italian, 1926-1977), "Signora dal Cappello," oil on panel, signed lower left, signed, titled and dated verso, overall (with frame): 22.5"h x 24.5"w Lazzaro Donati wa...

Jichak Pressburger, Painter. b. 1933, Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. A concentration camp survivior. Came to Israel aboard the ship, "The Exodus". 1964 Went to Paris. In 1979 Returned as new immigrant. Education Tel Aviv University, B.A. in art, with Marcel Janco and Isidor Ascheim at Avni art school. Beaux Arts, Paris with Professor Coutaud. Itzchak Pressburger Stays in Paris from 1963 – 1979, Resident of the “Cité des Arts” 1969-1972. Lives and works in Jerusalem since 1979. One-Man Exhibitions 1963 Gallery Dugit, Tel-Aviv 1968 Cultural Center Enkhuizen, Netherlands 1968 Gallery Zunini, Paris (chosen by the art critic of « Opus : Jean-Jacques Lévèque) 1970 Gallery Zunini, Paris 1973 Gallery Maitre Albert, Paris. Cultural Center Verfeil sur Seye, France 1974 Gallery Maitre Albert, Paris 1976 Gallery Mundo, Barcelone 1980 Artists’ House, Jerusalem 1981 Gallery Alain Gerard, Paris Group Exhibitions 1966 Rathaus Charlottenburg, Berlin. (The first show of Israeli painters in Germany Artists Center of Silvarouvres, Nantes, Ffance XXXth Salon of Finances at “l’Hotel des Monnaies”, Paris 1969 Maison de Culture, Le Havre, France 1968 Gallery Zunini, Paris (chosen by the art critic of « Opus : Jean-Jacques Lévèque) Salon « Grands et Jeunes d’Aujourd’hui », Paris Museum of Fine Arts, Nantes, France Cultural Center Vitry, France Gallery Il Giorno, Milan Cité des Arts, Paris 1972 Salon “Grands et Jeunes d’Aujourd’hui”, Paris Salon de Mai, Paris 1973 Städtische Galerie, Siegen, Germany 1974 Jewish Cultural Center, Paris Publicis, Paris 1975 Réalitiés Nouvelles, Paris 1976 Salon de Mai, Paris 1977 “Perspectives Israeliennes”, Grand Palais, Paris 1981 Salon Alain Gerard, Paris 1984 Artists’ House, Jerusalem Publication 1990 Haggadah Yom Kippour (Hebrew/French) Abraham Bliah (private edition), Paris Acquisitions 1968 The City of Paris 1972 The State of France The Yitzchak Pressburger artist was born in Bratislava – known for centuries by its German name of Pressburg – but the outbreak of World War II found him and his family in Prague. His father realized they had to escape from the Nazi occupiers and tried to get the family across the border into Hungary. However, they were caught near the crossing point, arrested and incarcerated overnight at the nearby railway station. The Czechs put them on a train to Hungary early the next morning. That was their first miracle in their quest for survival. They survived with relative ease until late 1943, when the father was taken away to a forced labor camp. He subsequently died in a death march. Things became even more precarious in early 1944, when the Holocaust made its full-blown presence felt in Hungary. “It wasn’t the Germans, it was the Hungarian Nazis who did the dirty work,” Pressburger points out. The family lived in so-called “safe houses” that were protected by Switzerland, Finland and Sweden. The havens were dismantled in late 1944, and the Pressburgers moved into one of the two Jewish ghettos in Budapest. The Nazis had found two houses with Jews, including the one where we had been, and took them all out and shot them next to the Danube. Today there is a monument by the river [called Shoes on the Danube Bank]. We should have been with the Jews who were killed by the river,” he says. After the war, Pressburger and his siblings were farmed out to various orphanages run by the Jewish Agency, and things took a decidedly better turn. “We finally had food to eat,” he recalls. “After a while we were put on trains that were protected by the Jewish Brigade [of the British Army], and we were sent to Austria, and then to Germany.” “My uncle was a famous artist, and I learned a lot from him,” he says. While in Germany, Pressburger also took some lessons with a local artist. His mother managed to get him and two of his siblings berths on the Exodus, which set sail from Marseilles for Palestine in July 1947. Pressburger was 13 at the time and clearly recalls the aborted attempt to get to the Promised Land. “It was so crowded on the boat. This was a ship that was made to ply rivers in the United States, with a few hundred people on board, and we had over 4,500 passengers crammed in.” As we know, the British prevented the Exodus from docking in Palestine, and the passengers were shipped – in three far more seaworthy vessels – back to France. After the French government refused to cooperate with the British, Pressburger and the others found themselves back in Germany. The teenager eventually made it here in 1948, just one month before the Declaration of Independence. After a short furlough in Tel Aviv, during the first lull in the fighting in the War of Independence, he moved to Kibbutz Kfar Ruppin, where he worked in the cowshed. All the while he continued feverishly drawing and honing his artistic skills, which he says came in handy when he joined the IDF. After completing his military service, which included a spell as one of the founding members of the Flotilla 13 naval commando unit, he worked in Sdom for a while at the Dead Sea Works before starting his formal arts training in earnest. I was in the first group of students at the Avni Institute [in Tel Aviv],” he says. “There was quite a famous bunch of students and teachers like Moshe Mokadi and Isidore Ascheim and Aaron Giladi.” In such illustrious company, one might have thought Pressburger was set to unleash his burgeoning talents on art connoisseurs across the globe, but it was a while before that happened. Pressburger arrived in the French capital in 1964 and spent close to 15 years there, with a short interlude in Germany, before returning to Israel. His time in Paris was a professionally rewarding period of his life, and he also found love. “[Avni Institute teacher] Yochanan Simon gave me the name and address of a French-Israeli family in Paris, but when I got to the house, a young woman opened the door and told me the family was on vacation in Israel,” he explains. Despite missing his expected hosts’ welcome, he and the German-born young lady who greeted him soon fell for each other, and romance quickly led to wedding bells. By all accounts, Pressburger did well in Europe. He secured a rare three-year berth at Cité Internationale des Arts, where artists are normally provided with accommodation and studio space for between two months and a year. He was also accepted to the prestigious Beaux Arts academy of fine arts, mounted solo exhibitions, and took part in group shows all over Europe. One of these last was a group exhibition at Rathaus Charlottenburg in Berlin in 1966 – the first exhibition of Israeli artists in Germany after the Holocaust. When he arrived in Berlin, the lineup for the Israeli show was already signed and sealed, but somehow his work came to the attention of the German culture minister, who arranged for him to join. The Pressburgers’ year-long sojourn came to an abrupt end following an encounter he had one day while walking through the crowded Berlin streets...