Marvin Israel (July 3, 1924 – May 7, 1984) was an American artist, photographer, painter, teacher and art director from New York City known for modern/surreal interiors, abstract imagery. Israel created sinister shadowy and exuberant interiors with implications of violence that were often sexual in nature.

History

Marvin Israel was born in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

, the son of Bessie and Harry Israel. In 1950, Israel was a graduate student at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

and spent two years in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

studying and painting. In 1952, he had his first one-man show at galerie Arnaud, Paris, France. In november 1953 he participated in a collective exhibition at galerie Suzanne Michel, in Paris, with Nina-Negri, Gilbert Besançon, Robert Fontené, Olive tamari, Michel Leroy and Lempereur-Haut. The start of his photographic period was in 1953; he studied design with

Alexey Brodovitch Alexey Vyacheslavovich Brodovitch (also Brodovich; , ; 1898 – April 15, 1971) was a Belarusian-American photographer, designer and instructor who is most famous for his art direction of fashion magazine ''Harper's Bazaar'' from 1934 to ...

. In 1955 he got his Masters of Fine Arts in graphic design from

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

; became art director for Seventeen Magazine. In 1956 he photographed

Elvis Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Presley's sexuall ...

. In 1960, he left photography as his main medium to concentrate on drawing in charcoal, pastel and ink. From 1961 to 1963 he was art director for ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...

'' where he featured

Richard Avedon Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. He worked for ''Harper's Bazaar'', '' Vogue'' and '' Elle'' specializing in capturing movement in still pictures of fashion, theater and ...

, along with artists such as

Diane Arbus Diane Arbus (; ; March 14, 1923 – July 26, 1971
by

Robert Frank Robert Frank (November 9, 1924 – September 9, 2019) was a Swiss American photographer and documentary filmmaker. His most notable work, the 1958 book titled ''The Americans'', earned Frank comparisons to a modern-day de Tocqueville for his ...

Lee Friedlander Lee Friedlander (; born July 14, 1934) is an American photographer and artist. In the 1960s and 1970s, Friedlander evolved an influential and often imitated visual language of urban "social landscape," with many of his photographs including fra ...

Larry Rivers Larry Rivers (born Yitzroch Loiza Grossberg; August 17, 1923 – August 14, 2002) was an American painter, musician, filmmaker, and occasional actor. Considered by many scholars to be the "Godfather" and "Grandfather" of Pop art, he was on ...

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

and established masters such as

Henri Cartier-Bresson Henri Cartier-Bresson (; 22 August 1908 – 3 August 2004) was a French artist and Humanist photography, humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 135 film, 35mm film. He pioneered the genre of street ...

and

Walker Evans Walker Evans (November 3, 1903 – April 10, 1975) was an American photographer and photojournalist best known for his work for the Resettlement Administration and the Farm Security Administration (FSA) documenting the effects of the Great ...

. From 1957 to 1963 he worked as a freelance art director for

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

, with occasional engagements thereafter. In 1963 taught painting and design in New York City at

Parsons School of Design The Parsons School of Design is a private art and design college under The New School located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhattan art ...

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly known as Cooper Union, is a private college on Cooper Square in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-s ...

and at the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...

In 1966 he had his first one-man show at Cordier and Elkstron Gallery in NYC. In 1967, he became art director for Mademoiselle Magazine. In 1970, he designed

's photo exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. In 1978, he had a retrospective exhibition at the Brusberg Gallery in Hanover, West Germany. In May 1984 while in Dallas, Texas, working on

's exhibition, "In the American West," he had a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

and died. He was married to Cuban-born New York sculptor and ceramicist Margaret Ponce Israel. He maintained a two-story cupola studio/living space on top of a New York City skyscraper. In addition to the American artists and photographers with whom he worked, he was widely known among and friendly with such notable photographers and artists as

Lisette Model Lisette Model (born Elise Amelie Felicie Stern; November 10, 1901 – March 30, 1983) was an Austrian-born American photographer primarily known for the frank humanism of her street photography. A prolific photographer in the 1940s and a member ...

, Mary Frank, Peter Beard,

Saul Leiter Saul Leiter (December 3, 1923 – November 26, 2013) was an American photographer and painter whose early work in the 1940s and 1950s was an important contribution to what came to be recognized as the New York school of photography.Jane Liv ...

and

Garry Winogrand Garry Winogrand (; January 14, 1928 – March 19, 1984) was an American street photographer, who portrayed U.S. life and its social issues in the mid-20th century. Photography curator, historian, and critic John Szarkowski called Winogrand the ...

. In 1972, he appeared as himself in the documentary film, ''Going Where I've Never Been: The Photography of Diane Arbus''. In 1986, a retrospective of Marvin's art was held at Parson's School of Design. In 1991, a retrospective was held at Twining Gallery in NYC.

References

External links

Marvin Israel biography at Ask Art

Examples of Marvin Israel's work

Going where I've Never Been: The Photography of Diane Arbus

Who is Marvin Israel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Israel, Marvin 1924 births 1984 deaths Artists from Syracuse, New York Syracuse University alumni 20th-century American painters American male painters American contemporary painters Jewish American painters American expatriates in France 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American male artists Cooper Union faculty