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Artist Harold Altman Finds
Figures Give Life To Landscapes

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ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM

Assistant Editor

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76

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 1990

ne lithograph shows a
lone man, a dog by
his side, walking
through a park of bare trees
wearing shrouds of snow.
Another work shows a
man sitting on an old bench
beside a large tree, its bran-
ches worn and weary but
still sheltering.
It is this juxtaposition of a
solitary figure against the
landscape that constantly
intrigues the artist of these
two works, Harold Altman.
Since his professional career
began 32 years ago, he has
been creating sketches and
lithographs that focus on na-
ture — parks, gardens, the
hill outside his studio — and
a few private figures.
"It's like the way- the
nucleus relates to the cell,"
he says of the men and wo-
men in his works. "The fig-
ures give ' life to the land-
scape."
The works of Mr. Altman,
66, a New York native who
divides his time between
Pennsylvania and Paris, are
on display through
September at Park West
Gallery in Southfield.
Mr. Altman was raised in
Brooklyn and the Bronx, one
of 11. children born to a ped-
dler. At 8, Mr. Altman's
father quit school to help
support his family. He often
told his son of how, during a
parade after the Spanish-
American War, he sold
periscopes and orange crates
to those wishing to get a
better view of the festivities.
His father's work would
later inspire Mr. Altman's
first drawings —fruit and
vegetable market scenes.
By the time he was 9, Mr.
Altman expressed a serious
interest in art. He attended
an all-boys' school, where he
illustrated the works of
fellow student and future
author James Baldwin.
At 18, Mr. Altman enlisted
in the Army, where he serv-
ed for two years in the Euro-
pean Theater. "It was then I
became enamored with
France," he says.
After the war, Mr. Altman
found a job teaching in New
York's Lower East Side. He
earned $1,200 a year and
paid $14 a month rent. But it
was too difficult to support
his new family on such an
income, so Mr. Altman took
a position teaching at a New
York university.

Harold Altman at work in his studio: A pencil tripping over the page until
the work comes alive.

At the same time, Mr.
Altman's own career as an
artist began to grow. His
first show was held in 1950
in Paris. After that, his work
was displayed throughout
the country, and he received
awards and a Fulbright
Research Grant.
Mr. Altman continued
teaching through 1975,
holding his last job at Penn-

Mr. Altman's
pictures are
printed in Paris on
the same
100-year-old
presses used on
the works of
Picasso, Chagall,
Braque, Miro and
Matisse.

sylvania State University.
While working at Penn
State, he settled in nearby
Lemont, in central Penn-
sylvania, where he still
lives.
At first, Mr. Altman ad-
mits, he was hesitant about
settling down outside a
major city. "But I became
deeply appreciative of what
life was like in a small

village," he says. "It's placid
and tranquil."
Mr. Altman, whose favor-
ite artist is Pierre Bonnard,
bought an old church with
18-foot-high ceilings in
Lemont which he converted
to a studio. On some days, he
can look outside the window
and see deer grazing on the
large hill to the left.
That hill, and other neigh-
borhood sites, are frequent
subjects of Mr. Altman's
works. Lithographs show
Berry Street, where Mr.
Altman lives; a barn where
his neighbor keeps horses; a
comfortable old home; and
Mr. Altman's young
daughter saying goodbye to
a friend.
Paris scenes also figure
prominently in Mr.
Altman's lithographs.
Five years ago, Mr.
Altman purchased the
former Montparnasse home
of sculptor Alexander
Calder. It has stucco walls, a
tile roof and a balcony
overlooking a studio. The
home is located on Rue Cels,
which a friend of Mr.
Altman's pointed out is a
curious coincidence: just as
Mr. Altman loves nature
scenes, so Monsieur Cels was
the man who first brought