Nachum Gutman (as he himself signed; alternate

romanisation Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...

: Nahum Gutman; he, נחום גוטמן: October 5, 1898 – November 28, 1980) was a Moldovan-born Israeli

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, and author.

Biography

Nachum Gutman was born in Teleneşti,

Bessarabia Governorate The Bessarabia Governorate (, ) was a part of the Russian Empire from 1812 to 1917. Initially known as Bessarabia Oblast (Бессарабская область, ''Bessarabskaya oblast'') as well as, following 1871, a governorate, it included ...

, then a part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

(now in the

Republic of Moldova A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

). He was the fourth child of Sim a Alter and Rivka Gutman. His father was a Hebrew writer and educator who wrote under the pen name S. Ben Zion. In 1903, the family moved to

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

, and two years later, to Ottoman Palestine. In 1908, Gutman attended the Herzliya Gymnasium in what would later become

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. In 1912, he studied at the

Bezalel School The Bezalel school was an art movement in Palestine in the late Ottoman and British Mandate periods. Named for the Bezalel Art School, predecessor of the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, it has been described as "a fusion of oriental art and ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. In 1920–26, he studied art in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, 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 Shulamit Nazarian is a contemporary art gallery located in Los Angeles, California. History Shulamit Nazarian began as a roving art platform in 2006 and opened a permanent exhibition space in Venice Beach in 2012. After four years in Venice, the ...

, to appraise the value all of the works left in his estate.

Artistic career

Gutman helped pioneer a distinctively Israeli style, moving away from the European influences of his teachers. He worked in many different media:

oils An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

watercolours Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to ...

gouache Gouache (; ), body color, or opaque watercolor is a water-medium paint consisting of natural pigment, water, a binding agent (usually gum arabic or dextrin), and sometimes additional inert material. Gouache is designed to be opaque. Gouache ...

and

pen and ink A pen is a common writing tool, writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a Nib (pen), nib or in a sm ...

. His sculptures and brightly colored mosaics can be seen in public places around Tel Aviv. Indoor murals depicting the history of

can be seen in the western wing of the Shalom Tower and the Chief Rabbinate building. A mosaic fountain with scenes from the early days of Tel Aviv and biblical stories connected to Jaffa (inscribed with 3 Bible verses: Jeremiah 31:4, 2 Chronicles 2:16, Jonah 1:3), stood for 32 years at the end of Bialik Street, opposite the old

municipality building. 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

Gutman received many art and literary prizes: * 1938:

Dizengoff Prize The Dizengoff Prize for Painting and Sculpture is awarded annually by the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality since 1937. Recipients The following is a table of Dizengoff Prize laureates in their respective art form: References {{reflist Israeli ...

for painting ''(also in 1956)'' * 1946:

Lamdan Prize The Lamdan Prize was an Israeli prize awarded annually, from 1954 to 1983, for literary works for children and youth. The prize was presented by the Ramat Gan Municipality in conjunction with the Hebrew Writers Association in Israel and was foun ...

for children's literature * 1955: Sicily Award for watercolor painting at the São Paulo Biennale * 1956: Dizengoff Prize for painting ''(also in 1938)'' * 1962: Hans Christian Andersen Literary Prize on behalf of Unesco for his book "Path of Orange Peels" * 1964: Yatziv Prize * 1969: Fichman Prize for Literature and Art * 1974: Honorary Doctor of Philosophy from

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

* 1976: Honorary Citizen of

* 1978:

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

, for

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

The Nachum Gutman Museum, showcasing the artist's work, was established in the

Neve Tzedek Neve Tzedek ( he, נְוֵה צֶדֶק, נווה צדק, ''lit.'' Abode of Justice) is a neighborhood located in southwestern Tel Aviv, Israel. It was the first Jewish neighborhood to be built outside the old city of the ancient port of Jaffa. O ...

neighborhood of Tel Aviv.

Outdoor and public art

* 1961 A mosaic wall at the Chief Rabbinate building,

* 1966 A mosaic wall in memory of the Herzliya high school at Migdal Shalom (Shalom Tower),

* 1976 History of Jaffa and Tel Aviv, mosaic-decorated fountain, initially Bialik Square, now southern end of Rothschild Boulevard

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

References

External links

* * *
The Nachum Gutman Museum
(in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

and English)
Nachum Gutman – Illustrates stories of the Bible Exhibition

The Mosaics of Nachum Gutman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gutman, Nachum 1898 births 1980 deaths People from Telenești District Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the Ottoman Empire Israeli Jews Jewish painters Israel Prize in children's literature recipients 20th-century Israeli painters Burials at Trumpeldor Cemetery Mosaic artists