Sylvia Lefkovitz (August 29, 1924 – April 21, 1987) was a Canadian artist known for her

murals A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...

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

drawing Drawing is a Visual arts, visual art that uses an instrument to mark paper or another two-dimensional surface, or a digital representation of such. Traditionally, the instruments used to make a drawing include pencils, crayons, and ink pens, some ...

s, lithos and

sculpture 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 ...

s rendered in bronze, silver, marble, and Canadian wood. Her work has been exhibited all over the world and was profiled in the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

's 1966 documentary ''In Search of Medea: The Art of Sylvia Lefkovitz''. Among her major pieces are the five-figure bronze ''Chorus'', commissioned for the

Mies van der Rohe Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect, academic, and interior designer. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. He is regarded as one of the pionee ...

complex in Montreal's Westmount Square; her ''Fathers of Confederation'', commemorating the 1967

Canadian Centennial The Canadian Centennial was a yearlong celebration held in 1967 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation. Celebrations in Canada occurred throughout the year but culminated on Dominion Day, July 1. Commemorative coins were m ...

; her eighty-figure ''Divine Comedy'', purchased by the Canadian government and exhibited in the Dante Room of the Royal Palace in Milan on the occasion of

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

's 700th birthday; and her eight bronze biblical panels in

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

, inspired by

Ghiberti Lorenzo Ghiberti (, , ; 1378 – 1 December 1455), born Lorenzo di Bartolo, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor from Florence, a key figure in the Early Renaissance, best known as the creator of two sets of bronze doors of the Florence Baptistery ...

's Bronze Doors on the

Florence Baptistery The Florence Baptistery, also known as the Baptistery of Saint John (), is a religious building in Florence, Italy. Dedicated to the patron saint of the city, John the Baptist, it has been a focus of religious, civic, and artistic life since its ...

Biography

Sylvia Lefkovitz was born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, to immigrant parents of Russian and Hungarian Jewish descent. Lefkovitz first displayed a talent for drawing in elementary school, and by the seventh grade was already sketching portraits. She went on to attend

Baron Byng High School Baron Byng High School was an English language, English-language State school, public high school on Saint Urbain Street in Montreal, Quebec, opened by Governor General of Canada Julian Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy in 1921. The school was atte ...

where art teacher Anne Savage encouraged her to pursue her artistic ambitions.Hill, Harriet (October 18, 1962) "Facts and Fancies". The Gazette, Montreal. Supported by her working-class parents, she embarked on a lifetime of study by taking classes at the

École des beaux-arts de Montréal École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

.Solomon, Heather (July 17, 1986). "Students respond to the "school of life" approach".

The Canadian Jewish News The Canadian Jewish News is a non-profit, national, English-language digital-first media organization that serves Canada's Jewish community. A national edition of the newspaper was published for 60 years in Toronto. A weekly Montreal edition in En ...

. After graduating high school, Lefkovitz began art studies at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in New York in 1941. She returned to Montreal a year later, working nights during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Fairchild Aircraft Fairchild was an American aircraft and aerospace manufacturing company based at various times in Farmingdale, New York; Hagerstown, Maryland; and San Antonio, Texas. History Early aircraft The company was founded by Sherman Fairchild in 19 ...

while her days were spent studying at the

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) is an art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest art museum in Canada by gallery space. The museum is located on the historic Golden Square Mile stretch of Sherbrooke Street west. The MMFA ...

School. On scholarship at the school for drawing, she studied under Eldon Grier until 1946, when she returned to Columbia University for two more years.Mary Louise (October 15, 1959) "Local artist suggest travelling exhibition across Canada as aid". The Monitor, Montreal. While studying there under Oronzio Maldarelli and Henry Meloy, she supported herself by again working nights as a

keypunch A keypunch is a device for precisely punching holes into stiff paper cards at specific locations as determined by keys struck by a human operator. Other devices included here for that same function include the gang punch, the pantograph punch, ...

operator for the Blue Cross. After a brief return to Montreal, Lefkovitz decided to continue her studies at the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

and

Académie Julian The () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907). The school was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number and qual ...

in Paris. A year later, she moved on to Spain and Italy for a time before returning to Montreal, where she took a bookkeeping day job, taught art in the evenings, and "painted like mad." She began experimenting in the ancient art form of

encaustic painting Encaustic painting, also known as hot wax painting, is a form of painting that involves a heated wax medium to which colored pigments have been added. The molten mix is applied to a surface—usually prepared wood, though canvas and other mate ...

, and in 1953, several of these works were exhibited in Montreal. Lefkovitz spent four months in Mexico in 1954, studying Orozco's mural techniques and observing the creation of major historical murals in the

Pyroxylin Nitrocellulose (also known as cellulose nitrate, flash paper, flash cotton, guncotton, pyroxylin and flash string, depending on form) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitric acid and ...

medium (a lacquer technique).Solomon, Heather (March 16, 2006). "Lefkovitz lives again through her legacy".

.Samuels, A. (April 22, 1963). Letter to Department of Foreign Affairs and National Resources, Historic Sites Division. The Mexican muralists' depiction of oppressed peoples and social injustice inspired her to apply their techniques to the interpretation of these issues in her own country. Upon her return to Montreal, she received a commission from the

Redpath Museum The Redpath Museum is a museum of natural history belonging to McGill University and located on the university's campus on Sherbrooke Street West in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was built in 1882 as a gift from the sugar baron Peter Redpath. I ...

to create a series of murals depicting the life and career of

Louis Riel Louis Riel (; ; 22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis in Canada, Métis people. He led two resistance movements against the Government of ...

. The work won Lefkovitz her first major professional recognition. The Riel mural was exhibited as part of the formal opening of the park on St. Helen's Island in Montreal by invitation of the Municipal Government. The panels were later purchased by the

Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military * Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

and are on display in the National Historic Park in

North Battleford North Battleford is a city in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is the seventh largest city in the province and is directly across the North Saskatchewan River from the town of Battleford. Together, the two communities are known as "The B ...

, Saskatchewan. The following year, a second series of historical panels depicting the

expulsion of the Acadians The Expulsion of the Acadians was the forced removal of inhabitants of the North American region historically known as Acadia between 1755 and 1764 by Great Britain. It included the modern Canadian Maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Br ...

was exhibited in Gallery XII in the

. Those five panels, which run 60 feet in length and are six feet high, are now housed at the

Université Sainte-Anne Université Sainte-Anne is a French-language university in Pointe-de-l'Église, Nova Scotia, Canada. It and the Université de Moncton in New Brunswick are the only French-language universities in the Maritime Provinces. History Université Sa ...

. In 1958, Lefkovitz was awarded an Arts Teachers Fellowship by the

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It is Canada's public arts funder, with a mandate to ...

to return to Mexico for a year, allowing her to devote all her time and attention to art for the first time. In

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, she experimented with different lacquers under Professor José L. Gutiérrez at the

Instituto Politécnico Nacional The National Polytechnic Institute (), abbreviated IPN, is one of the largest public universities in Mexico with 171,581 students at the high school, undergraduate and postgraduate levels. It is the second-best university in Mexico in the techni ...

, and further mastered her mural technique. She also encountered the renowned painter

David Alfaro Siqueiros David Alfaro Siqueiros (born José de Jesús Alfaro Siqueiros; December 29, 1896 – January 6, 1974) was a Mexican social realist painter, best known for his large public murals using the latest in equipment, materials and technique. Along with ...

, and they made plans to collaborate on a mural (it is unclear as to whether this work ever materialized). In 1959, Lefkovitz returned to her bookkeeping job in Montreal, painting in whatever spare time she had. By 1960, she had saved enough money to travel again, and headed to Italy; it was there that her focus shifted to sculpture. In the marble studios of

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, she took an apprenticeship in carving, and in the city's ceramic factories, she learned the art of

terra cotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based Vitrification#Ceramics, non-vitreous ceramicOED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used ...

. Working in the

foundries A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

, she rapidly mastered the technique of

lost-wax casting Lost-wax castingalso called investment casting, precision casting, or ''cire perdue'' (; borrowed from French)is the process by which a duplicate sculpture (often a metal, such as silver, gold, brass, or bronze) is cast from an original scul ...

. In 1962, she was awarded the Porcellino Award as the best resident foreign artist. She returned home later that year, fluent in Italian and accompanied by nine crates of her painting and sculpture. The Waddington Galleries in Montreal mounted a solo exhibit of her artwork. She used this homecoming to begin sculpting with Canadian wood. She travelled again in 1963, in Greece and Rome, finally settling in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, where she had her first major Italian solo exhibit at the Galleria Montenapoleone. The show won critical acclaim, and she was lauded for her interpretation of the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...

tradition in both her painting and sculpture. Lefkovitz remained in Milan for the better part of seventeen years, living and working on a student visa.MacNeill, Michelle (August 29, 2018). Personal interview with Barbara Samuels, niece of Sylvia Lefkovitz, July 18, 2018. The almost two-decade period was one of significant professional success, with a string of

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...

retrospective A retrospective (from Latin ', "look back"), generally, is a look back at events that took place, or works that were produced, in the past. As a noun, ''retrospective'' has specific meanings in software development, popular culture, and the arts. ...

s, and awards. She also won major public and private commissions in both Europe and Canada, including ''The Chorus'', ''Fathers of Confederation'' and the ''Divine Comedy''. She returned to Montreal in 1981, where she worked and taught from both her Montreal studio (Studio 3) and at the Saidye Bronfman Centre School of Fine Arts until her death in 1987 at the age of 62.

Major works

Selected works

Selected exhibitions

* 2018 – The Hand and the Fire: The Life and Work of Sylvia Lefkovitz, Gallery Gevik, Toronto, Canada * 2011 – Sylvia Lefkovitz: A Retrospective, Gallery Gevik, Toronto, Canada * 2006 – Between Montreal, Mexico & Milan: Sculptures and paintings by Sylvia Lefkovitz, Valentin Gallery,

, Canada * 1975 – Retrospective,

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...

Company, Cultural Centre,

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, Italy * 1971 – The

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's National museums of Canada, national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the List of large ...

, Ottawa, Canada * 1969 – Sculpture,

Canada House Canada House () is a Greek Revival building on Trafalgar Square in London. It has been a Grade II* Listed Building since 1970. It has served as the Chancery (diplomacy), chancery of the High Commission of Canada in the United Kingdom since 192 ...

, London, England * 1967 – Sculpture, Confederation Train and Caravans, Canada * 1965 – Paintings,

Palazzo Venezia The Palazzo Venezia (; "Venice Palace") or Palazzo Barbo, formerly Palazzo di San Marco ("Saint Mark's Palace"), is a large early Renaissance palace in central Rome, Italy, situated to the north of the Capitoline Hill. Today the property of the ...

, Rome, Italy * 1962 – Paintings and sculpture, Palagio di Parte Guelfa, Florence, Italy * 1957 – Paintings and murals, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Canada

Selected collections

, QC * Musée Louis-Hémon de Péribonka, QC *

New Brunswick Museum The New Brunswick Museum, located in Saint John, New Brunswick, is Canada's oldest continuing museum. The New Brunswick Museum was incorporated as the "Provincial Museum" in 1929 and received its current name in 1930, but its history goes back muc ...

, Saint John, NB *

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, QC * Batoche Historical Museum, SK *

, Pointe-de-l'Église, NS * Musée d'art de Joliette, QC

Major awards

* Premio Nazionale Grafica San Michele d'Oro, Italy, 1973 * Premio Nazionale di pittura figurative, Italy, 1973 * Premio Nazionale Grafica San Michele d'Oro, Italy, 1972 * Presented with the City of Genoa Shield for high artistic merit, Italy, 1972 * Premio Nazionale di pittura – Il Morazzone, Italy, 1971 * Porcellino award for the best resident foreign artist, Italy, 1962

References

External links

Sylvia LefkovitzSylvia Lefkovitz at Gallery GevikSylvia Lefkovitz at Galerie ValentinCanadian Women Artists History Initiative
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lefkovitz, Sylvia 1924 births 1987 deaths 20th-century Canadian sculptors 20th-century Canadian painters Artists from Montreal Canadian lithographers Canadian muralists Canadian people of Hungarian-Jewish descent Canadian people of Russian-Jewish descent Jewish Canadian painters Jewish women painters Jewish painters Jewish women sculptors Jewish Canadian sculptors Sculptors from Quebec Canadian women muralists Women lithographers 20th-century lithographers Burials at Baron de Hirsch Cemetery, Montreal 20th-century Canadian women painters 20th-century Canadian women sculptors