Marvin Israel (July 3, 1924 – May 7, 1984) was an American artist, photographer, painter, teacher and art director from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

known for modern/surreal interiors, abstract imagery. Israel created sinister shadowy and exuberant interiors with implications of violence that were often sexual in nature.

History

Marvin Israel was born in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, Yonkers, and Rochester. At the 2020 census, the city' ...

, the son of Bessie and Harry Israel. In 1950, Israel was a graduate student at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

and spent two years in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

studying and painting. In 1952, he had his first one-man show at Galerie Arnaud, Paris, France. The start of his photographic period was in 1953; he studied design with

Alexey Brodovitch Alexey Vyacheslavovich Brodovitch (also Brodovich; be, Аляксей Брадовіч, russian: Алексе́й Вячесла́вович Бродо́вич; 1898 – April 15, 1971) was a Russian-born American photographer, designer ...

. In 1955 he got his Masters of Fine Arts in graphic design from

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

; became art director for Seventeen Magazine. In 1956 he photographed Elvis. In 1960, he left photography as his main medium to concentrate on drawing in charcoal, pastel and ink. From 1961 to 1963 he was art director for ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the ...

'' where he featured

Richard Avedon Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. He worked for ''Harper's Bazaar'', ''Vogue'' and ''Elle'' specializing in capturing movement in still pictures of fashion, theater and danc ...

, along with artists such as

Diane Arbus Diane Arbus (; née Nemerov; March 14, 1923 – July 26, 1971
" The New York ...

Robert Frank Robert Frank (November 9, 1924 – September 9, 2019) was a Swiss photographer and documentary filmmaker, who became an American binational. His most notable work, the 1958 book titled ''The Americans'', earned Frank comparisons to a modern-da ...

, Lee Friedlander,

Larry Rivers Larry Rivers (born Yitzroch Loiza Grossberg) (1923 – 2002) was an American artist, musician, filmmaker, and occasional actor. Considered by many scholars to be the "Godfather" and "Grandfather" of Pop art, he was one of the first artists ...

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

and established masters such as

Henri Cartier-Bresson Henri Cartier-Bresson (; 22 August 1908 – 3 August 2004) was a French humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 35mm film. He pioneered the genre of street photography, and viewed photography as ca ...

and

Walker Evans Walker Evans (November 3, 1903 – April 10, 1975) was an American photographer and photojournalist best known for his work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) documenting the effects of the Great Depression. Much of Evans' work from ...

. From 1957 to 1963 he worked as a freelance art director for

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

, with occasional engagements thereafter. In 1963 taught painting and design in New York City at

Parsons School of Design Parsons School of Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is a private art and design college located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhatt ...

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique ...

and at the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...

In 1966 he had his first one-man show at Cordier and Elkstron Gallery in NYC. In 1967, he became art director for Mademoiselle Magazine. In 1970, he designed

's photo exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. In 1978, he had a retrospective exhibition at the Brusberg Gallery in Hanover, West Germany. In May 1984 while in Dallas, Texas, working on

's exhibition, "In the American West," he had a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

and died. He was married to Cuban-born New York sculptor and ceramicist Margaret Ponce Israel. He maintained a two-story cupola studio/living space on top of a New York City skyscraper. In addition to the American artists and photographers with whom he worked, he was widely known among and friendly with such notable photographers and artists as

Lisette Model Lisette Model (born Elise Amelie Felicie Stern; November 10, 1901 – March 30, 1983) was an Austrian-born American photographer primarily known for the frank humanism of her street photography. A prolific photographer in the 1940s and a member ...

, Mary Frank, Peter Beard,

Saul Leiter Saul Leiter (December 3, 1923 – November 26, 2013) was an American photographer and painter whose early work in the 1940s and 1950s was an important contribution to what came to be recognized as the New York school of photography.Jane Livin ...

and

Garry Winogrand Garry Winogrand (January 14, 1928 – March 19, 1984) was an American street photographer, known for his portrayal of U.S. life and its social issues, in the mid-20th century. Photography curator, historian, and critic John Szarkowski called Wino ...

. In 1972, he appeared as himself in the documentary film, ''Going Where I've Never Been: The Photography of Diane Arbus''. In 1986, a retrospective of Marvin's art was held at Parson's School of Design. In 1991, a retrospective was held at Twining Gallery in NYC.

References

External links

Marvin Israel biography at Ask Art

Examples of Marvin Israel's work

Going where I've Never Been: The Photography of Diane Arbus

Who is Marvin Israel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Israel, Marvin 1924 births 1984 deaths Artists from Syracuse, New York Syracuse University alumni 20th-century American painters American male painters American contemporary painters Jewish American artists Jewish painters American expatriates in France 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American male artists Cooper Union faculty