Sigmund Abeles (born 1934) is an American
figurative art
Figurative art, sometimes written as figurativism, describes artwork (particularly paintings and sculptures) that is clearly derived from real object sources and so is, by definition, representational. The term is often in contrast to abstract a ...
ist and
art educator.
His work embodies the "expressive and psychological aspects of the human figure; an art focused on the life cycle." He taught art for 27 years at various institutions including
Swain School of Design The Swain School of Design (also known as Swain Free School) was an American non-profit educational institution, founded in 1881 in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The school and archive is now part of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, within t ...
,
Wellesley College
Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...
,
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...
, the National Academy, and the
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists.
Although artists may stu ...
. Currently Professor Emeritus at the
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...
, Abeles works full-time in his NYC and upstate NY studios. He is the recipient of numerous grants and awards for printmaking, drawing, painting, and sculpture, including Pastel Society of America Hall of Fame honoree in 2004 and most recently the Artists' Fellowship 2017 Benjamin West Clinedinst Medal. His work can be found in many public institutions including the
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...
,
Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...
,
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
,
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...
, and the
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), ...
.
Abeles was one of three artists featured in
Manfred Kirchheimer's 2012 feature-length independent film ''
Art Is... The Permanent Revolution'', on the history of the art of protest in prints.
Early life and education
Born in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, Abeles grew up in
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as "The Grand Strand" in the northeastern part of the state. Its y ...
. The only child of Samuel and Henrietta Abeles, he was named after his grandfather, a renowned Orthodox rabbi who immigrated to the United States from Hungary in 1901.
His father, a Hungarian Jew, was a decorated World War I veteran who used his pension to open up a retail business in
Sheepshead Bay
Sheepshead, Sheephead, or Sheep's Head, may refer to:
Fish
* ''Archosargus probatocephalus'', a medium-sized saltwater fish of the Atlantic Ocean
* Freshwater drum, ''Aplodinotus grunniens'', a medium-sized freshwater fish of North and Central Am ...
.
His mother was of Polish-Jewish descent and worked as a librarian before her marriage.
After his parents divorced early on in his life, he moved to Myrtle Beach with his mother where she started a new life by opening up a rooming house called Paul's Guest House on US Highway 17.
Spending a great deal of time alone in the rooming house, Sigmund grew a fascination for how many types of people occupy the same domain which had a huge impact and direction on his artwork took.
Sigmund Abeles received no formal art training in the public schools at Myrtle Beach. Searching for inspiration, Abeles found
Brookgreen Gardens
Brookgreen Gardens is a sculpture garden and wildlife preserve, located just south of Murrells Inlet, in South Carolina. The property includes several themed gardens featuring American figurative sculptures, the Lowcountry Zoo, and trails thro ...
, an outdoor sculpture park, which provided him with a multitude of beautiful bronze and marble figures to sketch; years later, as an established artist, he had his life-sized bronze sculpture, " Kaethe, age 9" (modeled in 1968 and later cast in Bronze in 2006), placed in Brookgreen's permanent collection. Abeles was invited later to hold a major solo exhibition there in 2015 called "Carolina Roots".Shortly after graduating, Abeles was drafted into the army in 1957. He was posted to Heidelberg, Germany where he worked as a technical illustrator in a cartography workshop at the US Headquarters Army where he made charts and maps for top secret nuclear war plans. There he rented a house off base in nearby Neckargemünd that belonged to a sculptor. It was here he developed a renewed interest in creating sculptures. After serving two years in the army, he was discharged in Europe and spent the next year touring Italy, Greece and Israel with his then first wife, Gina Godwin. They raised two children, David Paul and Shoshanna Lynn upon coming back to the US.
During his high school years, Sigmund was mentored by Truman Moore Sr., a wood sculptor, who pointed him towards the Boston artist
Gerard Francis Tempest whom he later apprenticed with. Abeles attended the University of South Carolina, initially for pre-medical studies to appease his mother but he later switched to art studies. There he met
Jasper Johns
Jasper Johns (born May 15, 1930) is an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker whose work is associated with abstract expressionism, Neo-Dada, and pop art. He is well known for his depictions of the American flag and other US-related top ...
, an upper classman and became long term acquaintances. They shared the same art professors, Edmund Yaghijian and
Catharine Rembert
Catharine Phillips Rembert (April 22, 1905 – October 26, 1990) was an artist, designer and art educator best known as an important teacher and mentor of Jasper Johns, among others.
Early life and education
Catharine Phillips Rembert was born in ...
. In 1952, Abeles attended
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...
in Brooklyn for only one semester because his mother would only allow him to study commercial art. In the summer of 1954, determined to pursue his love for fine arts and figurative study, he attended the
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists.
Although artists may stu ...
where he was taught by
Reginald Marsh,
Morris Kantor and
Harry Sternberg
Harry Sternberg (1904–2001), was an American painter, printmaker and educator. He taught at the Art Students League of New York, from 1933 to c. 1966.
Biography Childhood, family life, and education
Sternberg's parents had immigrated from Russ ...
. In 1955, he received a scholarship to the
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture
The Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture is an artists residency located in Madison, Maine, just outside of Skowhegan. Every year, the program accepts online applications from emerging artists from November through January, and selects 65 t ...
in Maine. He worked under
Edwin Dickinson
Edwin Walter Dickinson (October 11, 1891 – December 2, 1978) was an American painter and draftsman best known for psychologically charged self-portraits, quickly painted landscapes, which he called ''premier coups'', and large, hauntingly enigma ...
and Isabel Bishop. There he also made lifelong friendships with fellow students Sidney Hurwitz,
Philip Grausman
Philip Grausman (born July 16, 1935) is an American sculptor who continues to push the limits of the time-honored portrait in art.
Life and career
Grausman's early work focused on natural forms representing buds and seeds, and this exploration l ...
,
Jerome Witkin
Jerome Witkin (born September 13, 1939) is an American figurative artist whose paintings deal with political, social and cultural themes, along with serious portraiture that melds the sitter's social position with a speaking likeness that reveals ...
and
Ashley Bryan
Ashley Frederick Bryan (July 13, 1923February 4, 2022) was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. Most of his subjects are from the African-American experience. He was U.S. nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2006 ...
. In 1957, he received another scholarship to study at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
where he received his MFA in Painting in just one year. Shortly after graduating, Abeles was drafted into the army in 1957. He was posted to Heidelberg, Germany where he worked as a technical illustrator in a cartography workshop at the US Headquarters Army where he made charts and maps for top secret nuclear war plans. There he rented a house off base in nearby Neckargemünd that belonged to a sculptor. It was here he developed a renewed interest in creating sculptures. After serving two years in the army, he was discharged in Europe and spent the next year touring Italy, Greece and Israel with his then first wife, Gina Godwin. They raised two children, David Paul and Shoshanna Lynn upon coming back to the US. In 1960, Abeles returned to Columbia, SC and found himself without a job. He briefly taught adults at a local community art center until a position opened up at the Swain School of Design in New Bedford, MA recommended to him. It was his first full time teaching job, which was to last three years. The year 1965 was Abeles' strongest New York art world year as a recognized artist there. He was included in that year’s Whitney Annual which was devoted to his prints and sculpture. Then the Museum of Modern Art bought his etching “ Self Portrait with Cats”. That was the only time both his estranged parents attended an art event he was included in. That same year, the National Institute of Arts and Letters awarded Abeles a grant and honor. His early anti war work in drypoint and etching was introduced there by
Lewis Mumford
Lewis Mumford (October 19, 1895 – January 26, 1990) was an American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic. Particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture, he had a broad career as a wr ...
. From 1964 to 1969, he was resident artist at Wellesley College which, despite not offering a studio art major at the time, had some of the brightest students the artist recalls having taught. In 1967, Abeles was awarded a sabbatical grant from teaching at Wellesley College by the newly founded National Council of Arts and Humanities which is now called the
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...
. He spent that year making large anti Vietnam war color prints as well as a body of terra cotta sculptures from the figure. In his first 20 years as an artist, Abeles mostly worked in black and white etchings, drawings and sculpture. Color was reintroduced into his works when he discovered pastel which was an extension of his drawings beginning in 1979.
Publications
* Ronald L. Ruble, ''The Print Renaissance in America—A Revolution'' (2015)
* Frye Art Museum, ''The Perception of Appearance. A Decade of Contemporary American Figure Drawing'' (2002)
* Smithsonian Institution, National Portrait Gallery, ''American Portrait Drawings'' (1980)
* Matthew Baigell, ''Jewish Art in America—An Introduction'' (2007). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc.
* James A. Haught, ''The Art of Love Making, An Illustrated Tribute'' (1992). Prometheus Books.
* David Acton, ''60 Years of North American Prints 1947–2007'' (2007). The Boston Printmakers.
* Dan Gheno, ''Figure Drawing Master Class'' (2015). Dan Gheno published by North Light Books.
* ''Face to Face: Artists' Self Portraits from the Collection of Jackye and Curtis Finch, Jr.'' Catalog 2013, Arkansas Arts Center
* ''Yellow Silk: Erotic Arts and Letters'', ed. Lily Pond and Richard Russo (1991). Harmony Books.
* ''Mirrors & Masks: Reflections and Constructions of the Self'' (2017).
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United St ...
* Jack A. Morris, Jr (text)/Robert Smeltzer (photography) "Contemporary Artists of South Carolina" (1970)
Solo exhibitions
* "Century Master: Sigmund Abeles"
The Century Association
The Century Association is a private social, arts, and dining club in New York City, founded in 1847. Its clubhouse is located at 7 West 43rd Street near Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. It is primarily a club for men and women with distinction ...
, NYC, 2019. Solo retrospective exhibition comprising 90 of Sigmund Abeles works.
* ''Carolina Roots: Sigmund Abeles'',
Brookgreen Gardens
Brookgreen Gardens is a sculpture garden and wildlife preserve, located just south of Murrells Inlet, in South Carolina. The property includes several themed gardens featuring American figurative sculptures, the Lowcountry Zoo, and trails thro ...
,
Murrells Inlet, SC, 2015
* ''From Whence I've Come'', Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum,
Myrtle Beach, SC
Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as "The Grand Strand" in the northeastern part of the state. Its y ...
, 2007
* ''Sigmund Abeles: Things to Come'', Burroughs/Chapin Art Museum, Myrtle Beach, SC, 1999
* ''ABELES, Recent Pastels, Drawings & Print Survey'', Thomas Williams Fine Arts, London, UK, catalog, 2000
* ''Print Retrospective'',
Bates College Museum of Art
The Bates College Museum of Art (also known locally simply as the Museum of Art or MoA) is an art museum located on the campus of, and maintained by, Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. It holds various mediums of arts that showcase Maine and the gr ...
,
Lewiston, ME, catalog w/complete print listing, 1999
* ''The Observant Hand, 40 Years of Drawing by Sigmund Abeles'', Pollock Gallery,
Southern Methodist University
, mottoeng = "The truth will make you free"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = SACS
, academic_affiliations =
, religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church
, president = R. Gerald Turner
, prov ...
,
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
, TX, 1998
* ''A 30-Year Retrospective of Drawings & Prints from the Collection of the
Boston Public Library
The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also the Library for the Commonwealth (formerly ''library of last recourse'') of the Commonweal ...
'', 1993
* ''Sigmund Abeles'', The Old Print Shop, New York City, 2008
References
External links
Sigmund AbelesArt Students LeagueAsheville Art MuseumJohnson CollectionNational Academy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abeles, Sigmund
Figurative art
American printmakers
Painters from New York City
People from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
University of New Hampshire faculty
Art Students League of New York faculty
National Academy of Design faculty
Pastel artists
20th-century American painters
1934 births
Living people
21st-century American painters