Abraham (Abe) Ajay (1919–1998) was an American artist who was best known for his artistic contributions for ''

The New Masses ''New Masses'' (1926–1948) was an American Marxist magazine closely associated with the Communist Party USA. It succeeded both '' The Masses'' (1912–1917) and ''The Liberator''. ''New Masses'' was later merged into ''Masses & Mainstream'' (1 ...

'' magazine during the late 1930s and early 1940s.Langa, Helen. "'At Least Half the Pages Will Consist of Pictures': New Masses and Politicized Visual Art." American Periodicals: A Journal of History, Criticism, and Bibliography 21.1 (2011): 24-49 and also for his creative use of reliefs made of found objects during the 1960s and beyond.Cotter, Holland. "Abe Ajay, 78, Artist of Relief; Known for Boxlike Constructions." The New York Times. 14 Mar. 1998 Abraham Ajay was born in

Altoona, Pennsylvania Altoona is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the Altoona Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The population was 43,963 at the time of the 2020 Census, making it the eighteenth most populous city in Pennsylvania. ...

in 1919 to Syrian immigrant parents. Ajay grew up working at his father's candy store and bar in Altoona until he graduated from high school. From an early age, Ajay had a passion for art and sought to harness his artistic abilities when he made the decision to move to New York City to study at 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 stud ...

,Corris Michael. Ad Reinhardt. London: Reaktion, 2008. and the American Artists School in Manhattan. While studying in New York, Ajay became close friends with Ad Reinhardt, the art director for the left-wing culture magazine ''

'', who inspired him to begin working for the magazine. Ajay's contributions during the late 1930s and early 1940s to ''New Masses'' were significant. Along with Reinhardt, Ajay helped to shape the artistic direction of ''New Masses'' during a period where the magazine incurred financial hardships. Ajay's contributions of covers and cartoons helped to give ''New Masses'' a strong artistic presence despite the overall decline of the magazine during the period. A lack of funding helped precipitate Ajay's departure from ''New Masses'' and as the years went on, his support for Communism waned. In the 1960s Ajay began to produce reliefs made of found objects."Tweed Museum of Art: 50 Years/50 Art Works." University of Minnesota Duluth 21 Mar. 2012 Later his often intricate constructions, created from tooled wood, gypsum and cast plastics, reminded may art historians of the sculptures of Louise Nevelson. In addition, many critics believe that Ajay's work illustrates religious architecture. It was during this time period where Ajay achieved considerable acclaim within the art community. Ajay was a professor of visual arts at

State University of New York at Purchase The State University of New York at Purchase (commonly Purchase College or SUNY Purchase) is a public liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. It is one of 13 comprehensive colleges in the State University of New York (SUNY) system. It was ...

, N.Y from 1978 until his health began deteriorating towards the mid to late 1990s. Following a move back to Bethel, Connecticut, Ajay died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1998 at the age of 78. He was survived by his wife, Betty Raymond. Ajay's work is contained in the

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 100 ...

, the

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue on the corner of East 89th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is the permanent home of a continuously exp ...

in Manhattan and the

Hirshhorn Museum The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is an art museum beside the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., the United States. The museum was initially endowed during the 1960s with the permanent art collection of Joseph H. Hirshhorn. It was de ...

and Sculpture Garden in Washington. In addition, Ajay's work with ''New Masses'' is available in existing copies of the magazine found throughout the country.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ajay, Abe 1919 births 1998 deaths American people of Syrian descent Art Students League of New York alumni Artists from New York City People from Altoona, Pennsylvania Federal Art Project artists