Leonard Baskin

Homage to Gene Debs, Woodcut Print on Rice Paper by Leonard Baskin

1949

LEONARD BASKIN Born 1922, New Jersey; died 2000. Leonard Baskin was born the son of a Rabbi. He was educated in art at the New School for Social Research in New York City and at Yale University. Baskin regarded himself primarily as a sculptor, though he also excelled in printmaking, watercolor, and painting. The artist's mostly figurative work was at odds with much of the art making of his generation, but it nonetheless earned an impressive following. Baskin is widely regarded as one of the foremost American sculptors of the twentieth century. Boldly embracing political and social issues, he made art that he felt could affect individuals profoundly at both a personal and archetypal level. He also ran a printing press, and his artist books are considered some of the most impressive in the medium. Baskin's sculptures, books, and works on paper are found in most serious and important public and private collections in the world including the Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., and The Museum of Modern Art, New York.