Three Collections of Israeli Art Works
Introduce Creative Artists to Amer i cans
•
Thanks to the deep interest of a couple in Lex-
ington, Mass., with a love of art and a special
concern for the spread of Israeli art, three magnifi-
cent art works have been made available to this
country.
Mr. and Mrs. B. H. Pucker have gathered for dis-
tribution in this country these three collections of
art works:
"Yosi Stern—Sketches and Drawings," issued
by the Israeli Publishing Institute, 28 Hillel St.,
Jerualem.
"Twelve Israeli Painters," a set of art works,
published by Lion the Printer, 7 Harnagid St., Tel
Aviv.
"Moshe Gat—Drawings," published by Safrat
Art Gallery, Jerusalem, printed in Israel by United
Artists, Ltd., Tel Aviv.
In every instance, these works were so beauti-
fully produced, so well designed, that they enrich
the available art collections and certainly draw new
attention to the development of the artistic skills of
Israelis.
The multi-colored paintings, the drawings, the
numerous sketches, are of such a variety, so attrac-
tive, that the Puckers have rendered a great service
by undertaking to make them a v a i l a b l e in this
country.
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In the Moshe Gat collection there are 16
sketches. In an explanatory pamphlet in this 11-
by-16 set there is an introduction by George Crespo
de la Serna that explains the works, offers a bio-
graphical sketch of the artist, tells of his back-
ground and the motivations for his works.
In this introduction, which appears in English
as well as in Hebrew, there is this interesting note
by de la Serna, Mexican art critic and hitorian:
"None of the characters he has created nor the
events he has reconstructed through his imaginative
power are soothing or tranquilizing. They express
everything, wordlessly, yet with stark clarity: poverty
and toil, desire and hope, the adaptability of every
man to his fate in life, and the rebellion lurking
within him against social injustice. Thus the Bedouin
on the edge of the desert, the shoe-cleaner in the
streets of Jerusalem, the laborer forcing his body
down over his machine, and the Negro in Harlem.
Thus the children selling their flitnsy wares in the
market, thus the mother lifting up her child, as one
bringing a sacrifice; thus the little Mexican coral-
seller, with the strong and friendly features of face
belonging to an ancient race—as ancient, almost, as
the Hebrews."
Indeed, the aged and the children, the poor,
the traders, the fisherman, the women in the mar-
ketplace — all depict life and its hopes and anguish.
Moshe Gat was born in Haifa in 1935 and his
artistic talent was manifested at the age of 16 when
he began to study at the Bezalel School in Jerusalem.
He has gained world acclaim since then, and his
works have been exhibited in this country, in Mexico,
Russia, Switzerland as well as in Israel.
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Lion the Printer's product, the work entitled
"Twelve Israeli Painters," includes the creations of
the following, and their titles:
Nahum Gutman, "Biblical Jerusalem;" Shalom
Sebba, "The Sheep-Shearer;" Mordecai Ardon, "The
Girl in Blue;" Margot L. Aschheim, "Three
Friends;" Shmuel Katz, "Solomon's Pillars;" Ruth
Schloss, "Harvesting Peanuts;" Joan Mach, "In
Jerusalem;" Esther Pertz-Arad, "Children in the
Rain;" Shaul Ohaly (Ruckhaus), "A Street in
Jerusalem;" S'hraga Weil, "Joseph's Dream;" Mor-
dechai Avniel, "Tiberias;" Josef Kossonogi, "Kin-
nereth Landscape."
Each of the paintings is individually framed,
and each is accompanied by an explanatory note in
Hebrew, with an English translation.
As the titles show, there is variety here. And
in each there is skill. Collectively, these are the
works of artists of note, and each in his or her own
right is earning deserved recognition in Israel, their
fame now extending among us and in other lands.
"Twelve Israeli Painters" are reproductions
from the Art Calendar of Karen Hayesod-United
Israel Appeal.
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Yehuda Haezrahi wrote the introduction to
"Jossi Stern—Sketches and Drawings." In this col-
lection we have multi-colored paintings, sketches,
drawings, caricatures. The artist used pen and brush,
and his skill at catching the spirit emanating from
his subjects marks him among the distinctly crea-
tive in Israel.
"The Fisherman," "Infant Scholars" and "The
Old Man" well deserve acclaim, and the "Rainy Day,"
"Meah Shearim" and Shir Hama'aloth" are suffic-
iently impressive in their modernism to elevate the
collection to high rank in art.
The drawings and caricatures are oozing with
life. The double-truck drawings of the man engross-
ed in prayer and the elderly lady opposite him—
both entitled "Heaven . . . and Earth"—will cause
the reader, the possessor of this book with its vast
collection, to return to these subjects in admiration
time and again.
It is no wonder that the name "Shtern"--Stern
— has became so famous among those who have
taken an interest in Israeli art.
Haezrahi, in the introduction, describes the
charms of Stern's works, the humor without intent
at being humorist, the caricature in it widest sense
— analyzing the social and political; the artist's
"path of nostalgia;" his portrayals of Jerusalem
"full of optimism," the Jerusalem that is "under-
going change, relinquishing one form and assuming
another."
Stern was born in Hungary in 1923. With a
group of young refugees he went to Palestine at
the outbreak of the war in 1939, managed to reach
the Holy Land in 1940, was arrested by the British
as an "illegal immigrant," was jailed for six months,
and under care of Youth Aliyah and the Betar
youth received an agricultural training in the Land
of Israel. Then he was given a chance to study in
the Bezalel School in Jerusalem. He began to draw
attention and win acclaim for his art works, was
sent to London in 1949 to study by the Israel Min-
istry of Education, held a one-man show in Jeru-
salem in 1951 and in recent years his works have
been on exhibition, in addition to Israel, in Holland,
France and Italy.
Such are the three magnificent collections of
Israeli art. They will enrich any art library and will
be treasured in homes, schools, libraries. They are
procurable from Mr. and Mrs. B. H. Pucker, 8 Bryant
Road, Lexington, Mass. 02173.
British Zionist Voice Concern Over Soviet Jews and Neo-Nazism
LONDON (JTA)—Concern over
the growing tide of neo-Nazism in
Germany and over the plight of
Soviet Jewry was expressed here
Monday at the 64th annual confer-
ence of the Zionist Federation of
Great Britain and Ireland.
Harold Miller, chairman of the
conference, said that the increase
in neo-Nazi activities as shown by
recent election gains of the right-
wing West German National Demo-
cratic Party was "unforgivable."
Referring to the problem of Soviet
Jewry, he said that "the conscience
of people throughout the world
must be aroused" until Jews are
given the same rights as other So-
viet minorities,
Dr. S. Levenberg, head of the
Jewish Agency for Israel in Brit-
ain, called for the establishment
of a special political department
to combat the steady stream of
propaganda emanating from the
Arab countries and the Soviet
Union.
In Brussels, a petition asking the
Soviet Union to guarantee to Rus-
sian Jews "the possibility of re-
maining faithful to their cultural
inheritance" and to allow them to
emigrate if they wish to do so, was
presented here yesterday to the
Soviet ambassador by a delegation
of the Jewish Students Union. The
petition was signed by over 600
AllaidiaNININWINIMENIMmigmblimonk
Brussels University students, in-
cluding many non-Jews.
In the Hague, a petition bearing
3,600 signatures of Dutch college
professors and students, request-
ing "more humane" treatment for
Russian Jewry, was offered Mon-
day to M. Toegarinov, Soviet minis-
ter to The Netherlands. The en-
voy refused to accept the petition,
telling a delegation that offered
it to him that "there is no problem
at all of Russian Jews."
In Pittsburgh, religious, civil
rights, labor and community lead-
ers sent a joint letter to the Cen-
tral Committee of the USSR Com-
munist Party requesting that the
rights guaranteed to all peoples by
Russia's constitution be granted
also to the Jewish community.
Among the 50 signers of the letter
were well-known Catholics, Protes-
tants and Jews.
The letter was sent on the eve
of the 23rd congress of the Com-
munist Party of the Soviet Union.
The local committee in charge of
the action, called Equal Rights for
Soviet Jewry, pointed out that, un-
like other national. groups in the
Soviet Union, the Jews are for-
bidden to teach their language,
literature, history and values. The
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, April 1, 1966-13
letter concluded: "We call upon
the 23rd Congress to fulfill a his-
toric mission, and close the gap
between the Soviet constitution and
its full implementation with re-
spect to the Jews."
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