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Gershon IskowitzMidnight1955
1955
$24,750
£18,731.92
€21,498.82
CA$35,258.43
A$38,238.60
CHF 20,084.37
MX$464,472.66
NOK 251,324.07
SEK 236,635.65
DKK 160,571.96
About the Item
It is hard to reconcile Gershon Iskowitz's (1921-1988) aesthetic with his personal history. He survived the darkest side of humanity and built a life dedicated to creating beautiful art.
Born to a religious family in Poland, Iskowitz was allowed to leave Yeshiva (Jewish religious studies) in order to study art independently. The outbreak of war forced him to return to his hometown where he was conscripted to forced labor, then transferred to Buchenwald in 1944, one of the first and most notorious Nazi concentration camps. Upon liberation, Iskowitz spent nearly 9 months recuperating in the hospital. He then studied at the Academy of Fine Art in Munich before immigrating to Canada.
"Midnight" is an important painting that demonstrates Iskowitz's transition from figurative painting to abstraction.
Around 1950, Iskowitz arrived in Toronto. He was initially disappointed by Toronto's modest art scene and did not respond to the Group of Seven. However, he gradually became interested in the Canadian landscape, sketching in Uxbridge, Muskoka, and beyond.
In 1954, Iskowitz began spending time in McKellar, which was north of Parry Sound in central Ontario. Artists and amateurs would frequent the town's lodge to enjoy the landscape and the two nearby lakes. This setting proved to be an important escape from the city and a place of productivity and inspiration, even during the winter months. Between 1954 and 1957, Iskowitz spent significant time around Parry Sound. This is a significant period as Iskowitz slowly builds a body of work and local reputation in advance of his first solo exhibit in Toronto in 1960.
"Midnight" is one of the most accomplished and exhibited paintings from this seminal early period. It was included in Iskowitz's travelling retrospective "Painter of Light," which started at the Art Gallery of Ontario in 1982 and went to the Gallery of Windsor, Museum London, Glenbow Museum (Calgary) and finally to Canada House (London, UK).
This painting is also fully illustrated in Adele Feedman's essential "Gershon Iskowitz: Painter of Light" book on pg. 41.
Note: You might notice the odd spelling of the artist's signature here: Ickowicz. As Jews immigrated to English-speaking countries from Eastern Europe, many were either forced or chose to anglicize their difficult or "ethnic" last names. For nearly a decade, Iskowitz did not alter his family name, but in the late 1950's he adjusted the English spelling from Ickowits to Iskowitz in order to be phonetically accurate to the Polish pronunciaton. Let us know if you would like more information about Iskowitz's family background and origins. A special thank-you to legendary Iskowitz scholar Ihor Holubizky for sharing this information and assessing the painting.
To learn more about Gershon Iskowitz we recommend the Art Canada Institute's online book on the artist.
Questions about this piece? Contact us.
“Midnight"
Canada, 1955
Signed and dated on lower right face
Titled on verso
Partial labels verso (Gallery Moos & London Regional Art Gallery)
Oil on board
22.5"H 25"W (panel)
29"H 32.5"W (framed)
Very good condition
- Creator:Gershon Iskowitz (1921-1988, Canadian)
- Creation Year:1955
- Dimensions:Height: 29 in (73.66 cm)Width: 32.5 in (82.55 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:very good condition.
- Gallery Location:Toronto, CA
- Reference Number:Seller: 09-251stDibs: LU215216977442
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Larry Abramson was born in Durban, South Africa. In 1961, he immigrated to Israel with his family and settled in Jerusalem. He studied art with Yona Mach at the Hebrew University High School and devoted much time to painting. In 1970, he signed the High School Seniors Letter protesting the Israel government's foot-dragging on the subject of peace.
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Education
1972 Art History, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem
1973 Chelsea School of Art, London, UK
1971 Hebrew University High School, Jerusalem, art with Yona Mach
Teaching
1984-92 Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem
1992-96 Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem,Head of Fine Arts Department,
1992-96 Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem, Head of Young Artists Program,
2000-03 San Francisco Art Institute, California, USA, Guest Lecturer,
2002 onwards Shenkar College, Ramat Gan, Professor of Art, Multidisciplinary Art Department,
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1978 Beatrice Kolliner Prize for a Young Israeli Artist, Israel Museum, Jerusalem
1988 The America-Israel Cultural Fund Scholarship
1991 Jacques and Eugenie Ohana Prize for a Young Israeli Artist, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv
1993 The America-Israel Cultural Foundation, Sharett Fund Scholarship for a Young Artist
1998 Prize, Ministry of Education and Culture
2007 The Mendel and Eva Pundik Foundation Prize for an Israeli Artist, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv
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