Ahron Ben-Shmuel
Born(1903-01-18)January 18, 1903
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedFebruary 24, 1984(1984-02-24) (aged 81)
Jerusalem, Israel
Other namesBen Shmuel, Aaron Ben Shmuel
Known forsculpture

Ahron Ben-Shmuel, also known as Ben Shmuel, Aaron Ben Shmuel (1903–1984)[1][2] was an American artist, known for his direct carvered stone sculptures, figural granite work and paintings. He worked for the Works Progress Administration (WPA), and he was associated with left-wing politics despite his art having no clear political references.[3]

About

Ahron Ben-Shmuel was born on 18 January 1903 in New York City, New York.[4][5]

He apprenticed for three years as a monument carver at a stone yard and eventually developed his own style.[6] Jackson Pollock studied direct carving techniques under Ahron Ben-Shmuel between 1930 until 1933 in his Greenwich Village studio.[7][8]

In 1936, Isamu Noguchi rented two carpenter shacks at 211 East 49th Street, and he repaired them so they could be used as art studios.[9] Ben-Shmuel was Noguchi's friend and he subleased one of the units.[9] The Guild Art Gallery (1933–1937) of New York City showed Ben-Shmuel work, in 1935 a joint exhibition was held with his friend Chaim Gross and two years later in 1937 a joint exhibition with Enrico Glicenstein, and Jean de Marco.[10][11][12]

Ben-Shmuel was awarded the Guggenheim fellowship in Fine Arts in 1937 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.[5] There had been a judged art exhibition that was formed by artists who desired to assist in the World War II effort, titled "Artists for Victory, Inc" (1942) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ben-Shmuel won fifth place with the first prize was awarded to Jose de Creeft.[13]

Death and legacy

He died 24 February 1984 in Jerusalem, Israel.[4][5]

Ben-Shmuel's work is included in the permanent museum collection at Smithsonian American Art Museum,[4] Museum of Modern Art (MoMA),[14] Michener Art Museum,[8] Albright-Knox Art Gallery,[15] Brooklyn Museum,[16] among others.

Public art work

Year Title Location Material Notes
1937 Fawn Techwood Homes Housing Project, between Pine and Hunnicutt Streets, Atlanta, Georgia The housing project was demolished in 1996.[17]
1937 The Boxers Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Coopersburg granite; concrete base Installed April 30, 1958.[18]
1940 Coiled Snake Philadelphia Zoo, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania black granite; stone base This work was made as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA).[19]
1942 George and Meta Conor-Wood Memorial Fountain Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Coopersburg granite; stone walls with slate steps and capping for the base [20]
1942 Figure of Job Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania bronze [21]
1958 The Laborer East Fairmount Park, North Terrace of Ellen Phillips Samuel Memorial, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania granite, on granite base [22]

References

  1. ↑ Kirwin, Liza; Art, Archives of American (2010-03-15). Lists: To-dos, Illustrated Inventories, Collected Thoughts, and Other Artists' Enumerations from the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art. Princeton Architectural Press. p. 186. ISBN 978-1-56898-888-7.
  2. ↑ Division, Procurement (1936). Bulletin, Treasury Department Art Projects. Washington DC: Treasury Department Art Projects, Public Works Branch, US Treasury. p. 16.
  3. ↑ Hemingway, Andrew (2002). Artists on the Left: American Artists and the Communist Movement, 1926-1956. Yale University Press. p. 309. ISBN 978-0-300-09220-2.
  4. 1 2 3 "Ahron Ben-Shmuel". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  5. 1 2 3 "Ahron Ben-Shmuel". John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  6. ↑ Schnier, Jacques (1972-11-01). Sculpture in modern America. Greenwood Press. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-8371-6213-3.
  7. ↑ Hart, Kim (2018-02-08). "Jackson Pollock's First Love Was Sculpture, Not Painting". Artsy. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  8. 1 2 "Ahron Ben-Shmuel". Bucks County Artists Database. Michener Art Museum. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  9. 1 2 Herrera, Hayden (2015-04-21). Listening to Stone: The Art and Life of Isamu Noguchi. Macmillan. p. 156. ISBN 978-0-374-28116-8.
  10. ↑ Offin, Charles C. (1 Dec 1935). "At The Galleries: A Second Van Gough Exhibition". Newspapers.com. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. p. 54. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  11. ↑ "The Lively Arts". Newspapers.com. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 31 January 1937. p. 86. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  12. ↑ Pappas, Andrea (2014). "In Search of a Jewish Audience: New York's Guild Art Gallery, 1935–1937". American Jewish History. 98 (4): 263–288. ISSN 0164-0178. JSTOR 26416762.
  13. ↑ Metropolitan Show, Modern American Artists Invade the Museum. Time Inc. 1943-03-08. p. 42.
  14. ↑ "Ahron Ben-Shmuel". The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  15. ↑ "Ahron Ben-Shmuel". Albright-Knox. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  16. ↑ "Walt Whitman, Accession # L34.119". Brooklyn Museum. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  17. ↑ "TECHWOOD HOMES (Public Housing), Historic American Buildings Survey, National Park Service" (PDF). September 22, 1995.
  18. ↑ "The Boxers, (sculpture)". siris-artinventories.si.edu. Smithsonian. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  19. ↑ "Coiled Snake, (sculpture)". siris-artinventories.si.edu. Smithsonian. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  20. ↑ "George and Meta Conor-Wood Memorial Fountain, (sculpture)". siris-artinventories.si.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  21. ↑ "Figure of Job, (sculpture)". siris-artinventories.si.edu. Smithsonian. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  22. ↑ "The Laborer". Association for Public Art. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
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