Gershon Iskowitz
(1919 - 1988) RCA
Previously Sold Works
GERSHON ISKOWITZ
Portrait of Meg
marker on paper
signed and dated 1957 lower left; sold together with the playbill for “This Is Our First Affair” at The Crest Revue
7.25 x 5 ins ( 18.4 x 12.7 cms ) ( sheet )
GERSHON ISKOWITZ
Untitled Abstract (Blue and Yellow)
watercolour
signed and dated 1978 lower left
13 x 22 ins ( 33 x 55.9 cms )
GERSHON ISKOWITZ
Untitled Abstract
watercolour
signed and dated 1978 lower left
12.25 x 21.25 in ( 31.1 x 54 cm ) ( sight )
Auction Estimate: $1,500.00 - $2,000.00
Price Realized $1,200.00
Sale date: September 24th 2024
GERSHON ISKOWITZ
Untitled, 1977
watercolour on paper
signed and dated 1977 lower right; Gershon Iskowitz Foundation (inventory number C243) on the reverse; unframed
22.75 x 31 in ( 57.8 x 78.7 cm ) ( sheet )
Auction Estimate: $2,000.00 - $3,000.00
Price Realized $2,280.00
Sale date: January 28th 2025
GERSHON ISKOWITZ
Blue Violet (D)
oil on canvas
signed, titled, dated 1983; titled and dated 1983 to a gallery label on the reverse; with the Gershon Iskowitz Foundation stamp (inventory no. B45) on the stretcher
24 x 39 in ( 61 x 99.1 cm )
Auction Estimate: $7,000.00 - $9,000.00
Price Realized $6,000.00
Sale date: January 28th 2025
Consignments
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Gershon Iskowitz Biography
(1919 - 1988) RCA
Born in Kielce, Poland, in 1919, Gershon Iskowitz immigrated to Canada in 1948 after surviving two Nazi concentration camps (Auschwitz labour camp in Poland and later Buchenwald, near Weimar, Germany). As a child, Iskowitz had an aptitude for art. He created advertisements for his local movie theatre in a section of his family’s living room that his father portioned off to create a small studio.
Following the Nazi occupation of Poland, Iskowitz was placed in the Kielce Ghetto. Once liquidated, Iskowitz was imprisoned in concentration camps in Poland and Germany. While he continued to make drawings during this period only two survive: Condemned (1944-46) and Buchenwald (1944-45). Upon liberation, he lived in the Feldafing Displaced Persons Camp and audited courses at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich.
Upon receiving a temporary travel document from the Military Government for Germany, issued to stateless people, Iskowitz traveled to Canada via the United States in 1948 where his extended family greeted him at Union Station in Toronto. Until 1954, Iskowitz’s paintings focused on memories from his imprisonment. In the same year, he was included in the Canadian Society of Graphic Art exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) alongside Painters Eleven artist Oscar Cahén.
By the 1960s Iskowitz’s style transformed from gestural to abstract. He became interested in exploring the Canadian landscape rather than his wartime memories during this period. After exhibiting at Gallery Moos in October 1964, for the first time, Iskowitz formed a close relationship with the owner, Walter Moos. Moos managed Iskowitz’s career and finances from this point forward. After receiving a Canada Council grant in 1967 he flew to Churchill, Manitoba. Entranced by aerial views he saw while in flight, Iskowitz began incorporating this perspective into his art.
Iskowitz was selected to represent Canada alongside Walter Redinger at the Venice Biennale in 1972 where he displayed four of these areal diptychs. In 1982, the AGO put on a retrospective exhibition of Iskowitz’s life work. After the retrospective exhibition had concluded, Iskowitz set up a foundation that would provide financial support to artists through an annual monetary prize, with assistance from Moos.
Literature Source: Ihor Holubizky, Gershon Iskowitz: Life and Work. Toronto: Art Canada Institute, 2018 (https://aci-iac.ca/art-books/gershon-iskowitz)
We extend our thanks to Danie Klein, York University graduate student in art history, for writing and contributing this artist biography.
