Benjamin Abramowitz

Benjamin Abramowitz (also known as "Ben Hoffman" during the late 1930s and early 1940s) was an American painter, printmaker, and sculptor. First recognized for his remarkable contribution at age 19 as senior artist with the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in New York City, he is among the most respected Washington DC artists of the past century.[3][4]

Benjamin Abramowitz
Born
Benjamin Abramowitz

(1917-07-03)July 3, 1917[1]
Brooklyn, New York
DiedNovember 21, 2011(2011-11-21) (aged 94)[2]
Washington, D.C.
NationalityAmerican
EducationBrooklyn Museum Art School and National Academy Museum and School
Known forPainting, Drawing, Sculpture
MovementExpressionism
Realism
Postwar and Contemporary
Abstract art
Websitebenjaminabramowitz.com

Life and career

Abramowitz was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1917 to Russian immigrants.[5] As a young child he craved the artistry of signs, posters and illustrations, and was enraptured by the art in museums. Walking hours to study life drawing at the Brooklyn Museum School, at 16 the Brooklyn Museum honored him with his first solo exhibition. He attended the National Academy of Design, absorbing the models of the avant-garde and social-realists, studying the masters. In 1936 he joined the Work Projects Administration (W.P.A.) using the name of Ben Hoffman and moved through the ranks, as teacher, mural assistant, senior printmaker and painter.[6][7] He was 19 years old. The Metropolitan Museum in New York holds eleven lithographs from the young artist.

In 1941, with the world at war, Abramowitz moved to Washington, DC[5] taking on U.S. government graphic assignments. He chose to make Greenbelt his base for both home and studio for more than half a century. The postwar years were a time of critical personal and artistic evolution for him. Two young children complicated his daily struggle for time and energy. By day a lithographer, each and every night driven by discipline, he drew and painted.[8]

By the time he was in his early 30s, Abramowitz had become a celebrated star in the growing Washington, DC-Baltimore regional art scene. From the 1940s on, critics, curators and collectors enthusiastically sought out his work. His work began to be purchased for major regional collections among them, the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Phillips Collection. The Corcoran Gallery of Art selected his work annually for its biennial exhibitions.

By the mid-20th century, Abramowitz, was recognized not only as a painter, but also as a teacher and "art coach" throughout the Washington metropolitan area. Among his students was the D.C. painter and sculptor Lilian Thomas Burwell.[9] The Ford Foundation singled him out and sent him throughout the country, lecturing, conducting seminars and critiques as artist-in-residence. All the while, he kept journals and maintained an active correspondence with critics, curators and students.

By the 1970s, he moved beyond the canvas,[10] and turned to making elegant and iconic wall works and freestanding sculptures, some black, some white, filling book after book with ideas for more. He designed four books illustrating the basic principles of the creative experience. Until his mid-80s, when diminishing vision essentially prevented him from continuing to work, he created steadily and with the same discipline and vigor that marked his earlier years. By 2008, his early work in the WPA became increasingly valuable and recognized, and is currently featured in a touring exhibition.

Abramowitz' distinguished lifework has been cited in numerous prestigious biographical volumes.[11] The National Archives of American Art holds hundreds of papers, letters and other materials.

Legacy

The modern art movement in the Washington region started mid-century, and the first was the work of Ben Abramowitz," said Walter Hopps, museum director and curator, at a memorial service for artist Gene Davis at the National Gallery of Art in 1985.[12]

The prolific and complex achievements of master artist Benjamin Abramowitz in painting, sculpture, works on paper in drawing and watercolor span almost eight decades.[13] Noted for his compelling aesthetic vision, Abramowitz has been hailed by critics, curators and collectors as one of the most important artists of the 20th century.[14] His vast body of work resists categorization. Working outside the geographical spotlight of the New York art world, Abramowitz' recognized mastery has been remarkably overlooked.

Notable Exhibitions
  • "Undiscovered Color: Paintings of Benjamin Abramowitz 1960-1970,[15]" Archer Modern, Washington, DC, 2013
  • "Out of the Vault,[16]" National Women's Democratic Club, Washington, DC, 2012
  • "WPA Graphic Works from the Amity Art Foundation Collection," Juniata College Museum of Art, Huntingdon, PA, 2008
  • "From Maryland to the Republic of Congo," ART in Embassies Exhibition, United States Embassy, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, 2007
  • "Heart of DC," John A. Wilson Building, City Hall Art Collection, Washington, DC, 2007
  • "Benjamin Abramowitz Works on Paper," Hemphill Fine Arts, 2006[17]
  • ART in Embassies Program, United States Embassy, Sarajevo, 2006
  • "30 Years Later: A Group Show of Current Works by Selected Washington Artists of the 50s and 60s," Gallery K, Washington, DC June 1989
  • "Benjamin Abramowitz: Painting, Sculpture, Drawing," Middendorf/Lane Downtown Gallery, Washington DC November, 1982
  • "Eminent Washington Artists: 3rd Annual Invitational Exhibit," The Art Barn, Washington, DC, January 1980
  • The Washington Project for the Arts, Washington, DC, 1979
  • The Jefferson Place Gallery, 1972
  • "Benjamin Abramowitz," The Jefferson Place Gallery, March 1971
  • "Washington: Twenty Years," The Baltimore Museum of Art, May 1970
  • The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1970
  • The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA, March 1965
  • "Abramowitz," R Street Gallery, Washington, DC, 1964
  • "Washington Artists Exhibition No. 20: Benjamin Abramowitz," The Corcoran Gallery of Art, November 1963
  • Solo exhibition, Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD, 1959
  • "3 Maryland Artists: Benjamin Abramowitz, Jane Frank & Lowell Nesbitt," The Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD, November 1958
  • "Paintings by Benjamin Abramowitz," The Dupont Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, November 1954
  • "Eighteen Washington Artists" The Barnett Aden Gallery, Washington, DC, October 1953
  • "The Eighth Annual Area Exhibition," The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, November 1953
  • "Trio: One-man shows by prominent Washington artists," Watkins Gallery, American University, Washington, DC, January 1953
  • "Trends in American Drawing," Howard University Department of Fine Art, Washington, DC, December 1952
  • "Maryland Artists 20th Annual Exhibition," The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1952
  • Solo exhibition, The Whyte Gallery, Washington, DC, April 1952
  • "Painters of Expressionistic Abstraction," The Phillips Gallery, Washington, DC, March 1952
  • The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, November 1951
  • The Whyte Gallery, Washington, DC, June 1951
  • The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, February 1951
  • Solo exhibition, The Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD, 1951
  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, December 1950
  • The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, November 1949
  • The Dupont Gallery, Washington, DC, 1949
  • "Third Annual Exhibition of Work by Artists of Washington & Vicinity," The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, November 1948
  • "Abramowitz," The Barnett Aden Gallery, Washington, DC, April 1948
  • The Barnett Aden Gallery, Washington, DC, September 1947
  • "Fifteenth Annual Exhibition of Maryland Artists," The Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD, January 1947
  • "Artists of Washington and Vicinity," The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, November 1946
  • Solo exhibition, Howard University Art Gallery, Washington, DC, March 1946
  • "The Eighth Metropolitan State Art Contest," The National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, November 1945
  • "Exhibition of Paintings by Artists of Washington, Baltimore and Vicinity," The Phillips Memorial Gallery, Washington, DC, January 1945
  • National (Smithsonian) Museum, Washington, DC, 1945
  • Baltimore Art Museum, Baltimore, MD, 1945
  • Phillips Memorial Gallery, Washington, DC, 1944
  • Metropolitan Museum, Hearn Permanent Collection, 1941
  • "American Artists' Congress Fifth Annual Competitive Exhibition," ACA Gallery, New York, NY, June 1940
  • National Gallery of Fine Arts (Smithsonian Institution), Washington, DC, 1940
  • New School for Social Research, New York, NY, 1939
  • Rockefeller Center, New York, NY, 1939
  • ACA Gallery, New York, NY, 1938
  • Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY, 1933[18]

Notable Collections
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References
  1. Who's who in American Jewry. Standard Who's Who. 1980. p. 3.
  2. Abramowitz, Benjamin. "United States Social Security Death Index". FamilySearch. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  3. Trescott, Jacqueline (2011). "Daughter works to preserve and promote father's artistic legacy". Washington Post. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  4. Who's who in American art. New York: R.R. Bowker. 1959. OCLC 60803809.
  5. "U.S. Department of State - Art in Embassies". art.state.gov. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  6. Interview with WPA artist Ben Abramowitz, retrieved 2015-06-03
  7. "The Golden Age of American Printmaking 1900 - 1950; essay by Olga M. Viso". www.tfaoi.com. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
  8. "BENJAMIN ABRAMOWITZ - THE ARTIST AND HIS LIFE". benjaminabramowitz.com. Archived from the original on 2015-08-12. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  9. Trescott, Jacqueline (2012-03-13). "Lilian Thomas Burwell, Washington sculptor and painter, displays new work at Howard University". Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  10. "Nothing found for 2013 06 30 Art At Archer The Mid Century Work Of Benjamin Abramowitz %2520". Retrieved 2015-06-05.
  11. Falk, Peter Hastings, ed. (September 1999). Who Was Who in American Art : 1564-1975 (Rev Enl ed.). Madison: Sound View Press. ISBN 9780932087577.
  12. "Out of the Vault Revisits DC Artist Benjamin Abramowitz | ART(202)". Archived from the original on 2012-09-20. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  13. "Benjamin Abramowitz: Greenbelt Museum Honors Prominent Local Artist". Greenbelt Museum. Archived from the original on 2015-05-25. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  14. Cohen, Jean Lawlor; Tebow, Elizabeth; Lawrence, Sidney; Forgey, Benjamin (June 3, 2013). Washington Art Matters: Art Life in the Capital 1940-1990. Charleston, S.C.: Washington Arts Museum. ISBN 9780615828268.
  15. "Undiscovered Color: Paintings of Benjamin Abramowitz 1960-1970". Retrieved 2015-06-16.
  16. "Out of the Vault Revisits DC Artist Benjamin Abramowitz | ART(202)". Archived from the original on 2012-09-20. Retrieved 2015-06-16.
  17. "Benjamin Abramowitz, Works on Paper 1955-1965, June 20 - August 19, 2006" (PDF). hemphillfinearts.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
  18. "CV". benjaminabramowitz.com. Archived from the original on 2015-06-16. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
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