thumb|Nachum Gutman mosaic wall at [[Shalom Tower, where the old Herzliya Gymnasium once stood; detail showing orchards and a saqiya fountain outside old Jaffa]]

Nachum Gutman (as he himself signed; alternate romanisation: Nahum Gutman; ; October 5, 1898 – November 28, 1980) was a Moldovan-born Israeli painter, sculptor, and author.

Biography

Nachum Gutman was born in Teleneşti, Bessarabia Governorate, then a part of the Russian Empire (now in the Republic of Moldova). He was the fourth child of Sim[c]ha Alter and Rivka Gutman. His father was a Hebrew writer and educator who wrote under the pen name . In 1903, the family moved to Odessa, and two years later, to Ottoman Palestine. In 1908, Gutman attended the Herzliya Gymnasium in what would later become Tel Aviv. In 1912, he studied at the Bezalel School in Jerusalem. In 1920–26, he studied art in Vienna, Berlin and Paris.

Gutman was married to Dora, with whom he had a son. After Gutman's death in 1980, Dora asked two Tel Aviv gallery owners, Meir Stern of Stern Gallery and Miriam Tawin of Shulamit Gallery, to appraise the value all of the works left in his estate.

none|thumb|246x246px|Nahum Gutman, (the man to the right) at [[Yitzhak Frenkel's (standing in the center) home in Safed]]

Artistic career

thumb|Gutman's studio, [[Nahum Gutman Museum of Art]]

Gutman helped pioneer a distinctively Israeli style, moving away from the European influences of his teachers. He worked in many different media: oils, watercolours, gouache and pen and ink. In 2012 this mosaic fountain was reinstalled at the southern end of Rothschild Boulevard.

Gutman's artistic style was eclectic, ranging from figurative to abstract. Gutman was also a well-known writer and illustrator of children's books.

Awards and recognition

thumb|Rear side of mosaic fountain by Gutman at its original location (1976-2008) at Bialik Square, Tel Aviv

Gutman received many art and literary prizes:

  • 1938: Dizengoff Prize for painting (also in 1956)
  • 1946: Lamdan Prize for children's literature
  • 1955: Sicily Award for watercolor painting at the São Paulo Biennale
  • 1956: Dizengoff Prize for painting (also in 1938)

The Nachum Gutman Museum, showcasing the artist's work, was established in the Neve Tzedek neighborhood of Tel Aviv.

Outdoor and public art

  • 1961 A mosaic wall at the Chief Rabbinate building, Tel Aviv
  • 1966 A mosaic wall in memory of the Herzliya high school at Migdal Shalom (Shalom Tower), Tel Aviv
  • 1976 History of Jaffa and Tel Aviv, mosaic-decorated fountain, initially Bialik Square, now southern end of Rothschild Boulevard Tel Aviv

Published works

  • Path of the Orange Peels: Adventures in the Early Days of Tel Aviv (English translation: Nelly Segal) Dodd, Mead & Company, 1979
  • "Seven Mills and Another Station" (Sheva T'khanot ve'od Takhana), Yavneh 1956
  • "In the Land of Lobengulu King of Zulu", Massadah 1940

See also

  • List of Israel Prize recipients
  • Neve Tsedek
  • Eden Cinema
  • Aaron Chelouche

References

  • The Nachum Gutman Museum (in Hebrew and English)
  • Nachum Gutman – Illustrates stories of the Bible Exhibition
  • The Mosaics of Nachum Gutman