Chaim Goldberg
Encyclopedia
Chaim Goldberg was a Jewish artist
, painter
, sculptor
, and engraver. He is best known for being a chronicler of Jewish life in the small Polish
village (or Shtetl
) where he was born, Kazimierz Dolny in eastern Poland; and as a painter of Holocaust era art.
workshop 1931 by Saul Silberstein, a student of Sigmund Freud
who was doing post doctorate work on his book, Jewish Village Mannerisms. Chaim and Silberstein left for Kraków with a large collection of the art in portfolios. Silberstein contacted influential individuals to provide support to the fourteen-year-old artist. Wealthy patrons, such as a judge and a newspaper publisher, sponsored his education at the "Józef Mehoffer
School for Fine Arts", Kraków, from which he graduated in 1935, and later at the "Academy of Fine Arts" in Warsaw
, where he was the youngest student (at 17) to enter the school, from which he graduated in 1938. World War II
interrupted his artistic development, and he became a refugee in Siberia
. He went to École des Beaux-Arts
, Paris, France on a fellowship from the Polish Government from 1947–1949, and then in 1955, he and his wife Rachel with their two sons, Victor and Shalom were allowed to leave Communist Poland, despite protest from the Ministry of Culture, and emigrated to Israel
.
, with a two-year business visa on an exhibition-tour and continued to paint, and create line engravings of his village characters, as well as sculpt. His and subject matter widened while living in New York
which became one of his "themes." He and his family decided to become citizens of the United States in 1973.
I. B. Singer wrote in an introduction to an exhibit catalog "Chaim Goldberg came from the shtetl and remembers its every detail. He is never abstract but is true to the objects and their divine order. His work is enriching Jewish art and the image of our tradition."
Some of his work dealt with his own dream sequences, such as the "Violin Thief Sequence" and the "Bird Dream Sequence."
In 1974, Chaim attended a performance of the "Emmett Kelly, Jr.
Circus" and began a series of drawings and other works on paper inspired by the "Circus theme." Then dance took center stage as his main subject. He also carved in wood. His body of work on the dance theme included paintings, watercolors, and sculpture carved in wood or made of aggregate concrete
.
Goldberg continued line engraving and created a suite of engravings titled, "Spring".
In 1997, at the age of 80 he was diagnosed with a disabling illness. He died in 2004 in Boca Raton, Florida
.
1934 - Studio Show, Kazmierz-Dolny, Poland
1936 - National Group Show, Warsaw, Poland
1937 - National Group Show, Warsaw, Poland
(the artist, his future wife and her family were refugees in Siberia)
1946 - "Poland After World War II" solo show, Shtczechin, Poland
1947 - National Group Show, Warsaw, Poland
1949 - National Group Show, Warsaw, Poland
1950 - National Group Show, Warsaw, Poland
1951 - National Group Show, Warsaw, Poland
1952 - National Group Show, Warsaw, Poland
1965 - One Man Show, Pioneer House, Givataiim, Israel
1966 - Retrospective Show, Museum Yad Labanim, Petach Tikvah, Israel (attended by Mrs. Golda Meir - Prime Minister; and Kadish Luz - Speaker of the House (Knesset).
1967 - One Man Show, LYS Gallery, New York
1968 - One Man Show, Theodore Hertzel Institute, New York, NY
1968 - One Man Show, Mixed Media Art Center, Syracuse, NY
1969 - One Man Show, Paul Kessler Art Gallery, Provincetown, MA
1970 - One Man Show, Paul Kessler Art Gallery, Provincetown, MA
1971 - Large Retrospective Exhibit at the DeAndries Gallery, St' John's University, NY
1972 - One Man Show, Mixed Media, Lincoln Mall Art Center, Miami, FL
1972 - Group Show, Mixed Media, American Congress, Washington, DC
1973 - One Man Show, "Chaim Goldberg's Shtetl" (drawings, watercolors, sculptures, oil paintings and line engravings) Smithsonian Institution, Hall of Graphic Arts, Washington, DC.
1973 - Group Exhibit, "Jewish Motifs and Culture of the 20th Century," Klingspore Museum, Offenbach, Germany
1974 - One Man Show, The Avila Art Center, Jewish Synagogue, Caracas, Venezuela
1977 - Group Show with the Texas Society of Sculptors, Houston Public Library, Main Branch, Houston, TX
1979 - One Man Show, Museum of Printing History, Houston, TX
1982 - Group Exhibit, "Art of the Twentieth Century - A Revelation," Congregation Beth Israel, Houston, TX
1985 - Group Exhibit, "Twenty-Sixth Invitational," Longview Museum of Art, Longview, TX
1994 - Group Exhibit, "Shtetl Life," the Nathan and Faye Hurvitz Collection, the Judah Magnes Museum, Berkley, CA (Goldberg's Marketplace, hand-colored litho was on the cover of the exhibit catalog.
1997 - One Man Exhibit, "Chaim Goldberg at 80," Nathan B. Rosen Museum, Adolph Rose Levis JCC, Boca Raton, FL
1997 - One Man Exhibit, "Remembering the Shtetl - 75 Years of the Art of Chaim Goldberg," Texas Union Art gallery, UT Austin, TX.
2002 - One Man Exhibit, "Oil Paintings of the Shtetl," Shir Art Gallery, Southfield, MI
2003 - One Man Exhibit, "Landscapes and Observations," Shir Art Gallery, Southfield, MI
2004 - One Man Exhibit, "Engravings and Lithos," Shir Art Gallery, Southfield, MI
Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
President's House, Jerusalem, Israel
Museum Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, Israel
City of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
Museum Yad Labanim, Petach Tikvah, Israel
Museum Petit Palais, Geneva, Switzerland
National Museum, Warsaw, Poland
Jewish Museum, Warsaw, Poland
Klingspore Museum, Offenbach, Germany
National Gallery of Art, Lessing Rosenwald Collection, Washington, DC
National Collection of Art, Washington, DC
Smithsonian Institution, Hall of Graphic Arts, Washington, DC
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Lowe Museum University, Miami, FL
Museum of Fine Art, Boston, MA
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT
Judaica Museum, Phoenix, AZ
Public Library Art Collection, San Francisco, CA
New York Public Library, New York, NY
Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT
Springfield Museum of Art, Springfield, MA
Houston Museum of Fine Art, Houston, TX
Houston Public Library, Houston, TX
Spertus Jewish Museum, Chicago, IL
Judah L. Magnes Museum, Berkley, CA
Skirball Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Yeshiva University, New York, NY
YIVO, New York, NY
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, sculptor
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
, and engraver. He is best known for being a chronicler of Jewish life in the small Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
village (or Shtetl
Shtetl
A shtetl was typically a small town with a large Jewish population in Central and Eastern Europe until The Holocaust. Shtetls were mainly found in the areas which constituted the 19th century Pale of Settlement in the Russian Empire, the Congress Kingdom of Poland, Galicia and Romania...
) where he was born, Kazimierz Dolny in eastern Poland; and as a painter of Holocaust era art.
Early life
Chaim Goldberg grew up in Kazimierz-Dolny. His drawings were discovered on the walls of his father's shoemakerShoemaking
Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand. Traditional handicraft shoemaking has now been largely superseded in volume of shoes produced by industrial mass production of footwear, but not necessarily in quality, attention to detail, or...
workshop 1931 by Saul Silberstein, a student of Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
who was doing post doctorate work on his book, Jewish Village Mannerisms. Chaim and Silberstein left for Kraków with a large collection of the art in portfolios. Silberstein contacted influential individuals to provide support to the fourteen-year-old artist. Wealthy patrons, such as a judge and a newspaper publisher, sponsored his education at the "Józef Mehoffer
Józef Mehoffer
Józef Mehoffer was a Polish painter and decorative artist, one of the leading artists of the Young Poland movement and one of the most revered Polish artists of his time.-Life:...
School for Fine Arts", Kraków, from which he graduated in 1935, and later at the "Academy of Fine Arts" in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, where he was the youngest student (at 17) to enter the school, from which he graduated in 1938. World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
interrupted his artistic development, and he became a refugee in Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
. He went to École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...
, Paris, France on a fellowship from the Polish Government from 1947–1949, and then in 1955, he and his wife Rachel with their two sons, Victor and Shalom were allowed to leave Communist Poland, despite protest from the Ministry of Culture, and emigrated to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
Emigration to the United States
In 1967, Goldberg arrived in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, with a two-year business visa on an exhibition-tour and continued to paint, and create line engravings of his village characters, as well as sculpt. His and subject matter widened while living in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
which became one of his "themes." He and his family decided to become citizens of the United States in 1973.
I. B. Singer wrote in an introduction to an exhibit catalog "Chaim Goldberg came from the shtetl and remembers its every detail. He is never abstract but is true to the objects and their divine order. His work is enriching Jewish art and the image of our tradition."
Influences
Goldberg's "Culture Shock" series and other series based on real life and politics of the period as were the works of the series the "Mad Drivers."Some of his work dealt with his own dream sequences, such as the "Violin Thief Sequence" and the "Bird Dream Sequence."
In 1974, Chaim attended a performance of the "Emmett Kelly, Jr.
Emmett Kelly, Jr.
Emmett Leo Kelly, Jr. was one of the "World's Most Famous Clowns". He was the son of Emmett Kelly, Sr., who was also a legendary circus clown. Emmett, Jr. successfully carried on his father's character "Weary Willie," famous for sweeping away the spotlight.- Early life :Emmett Kelly, Jr...
Circus" and began a series of drawings and other works on paper inspired by the "Circus theme." Then dance took center stage as his main subject. He also carved in wood. His body of work on the dance theme included paintings, watercolors, and sculpture carved in wood or made of aggregate concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
.
Goldberg continued line engraving and created a suite of engravings titled, "Spring".
Holocaust themes
In 1944 while in exile in Russia, Goldberg began making an effort to document what he heard. He returned to Poland with his wife and son, Victor, and began to create over 150 works of art dealing with the Holocaust, many of which are in the permanent collection of several museums, namely the Spertus Museum in Chicago.Return to Kazimierz-Dolny
In 1987, while working on the Holocaust theme, Goldberg returned to Kazimierz-Dolny. He made his final return to the theme for the third time.In 1997, at the age of 80 he was diagnosed with a disabling illness. He died in 2004 in Boca Raton, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
Exhibitions
1931 - "Polish Landscapes," Group Show, Kazimierz-Dolny, Poland1934 - Studio Show, Kazmierz-Dolny, Poland
1936 - National Group Show, Warsaw, Poland
1937 - National Group Show, Warsaw, Poland
(the artist, his future wife and her family were refugees in Siberia)
1946 - "Poland After World War II" solo show, Shtczechin, Poland
1947 - National Group Show, Warsaw, Poland
1949 - National Group Show, Warsaw, Poland
1950 - National Group Show, Warsaw, Poland
1951 - National Group Show, Warsaw, Poland
1952 - National Group Show, Warsaw, Poland
1965 - One Man Show, Pioneer House, Givataiim, Israel
1966 - Retrospective Show, Museum Yad Labanim, Petach Tikvah, Israel (attended by Mrs. Golda Meir - Prime Minister; and Kadish Luz - Speaker of the House (Knesset).
1967 - One Man Show, LYS Gallery, New York
1968 - One Man Show, Theodore Hertzel Institute, New York, NY
1968 - One Man Show, Mixed Media Art Center, Syracuse, NY
1969 - One Man Show, Paul Kessler Art Gallery, Provincetown, MA
1970 - One Man Show, Paul Kessler Art Gallery, Provincetown, MA
1971 - Large Retrospective Exhibit at the DeAndries Gallery, St' John's University, NY
1972 - One Man Show, Mixed Media, Lincoln Mall Art Center, Miami, FL
1972 - Group Show, Mixed Media, American Congress, Washington, DC
1973 - One Man Show, "Chaim Goldberg's Shtetl" (drawings, watercolors, sculptures, oil paintings and line engravings) Smithsonian Institution, Hall of Graphic Arts, Washington, DC.
1973 - Group Exhibit, "Jewish Motifs and Culture of the 20th Century," Klingspore Museum, Offenbach, Germany
1974 - One Man Show, The Avila Art Center, Jewish Synagogue, Caracas, Venezuela
1977 - Group Show with the Texas Society of Sculptors, Houston Public Library, Main Branch, Houston, TX
1979 - One Man Show, Museum of Printing History, Houston, TX
1982 - Group Exhibit, "Art of the Twentieth Century - A Revelation," Congregation Beth Israel, Houston, TX
1985 - Group Exhibit, "Twenty-Sixth Invitational," Longview Museum of Art, Longview, TX
1994 - Group Exhibit, "Shtetl Life," the Nathan and Faye Hurvitz Collection, the Judah Magnes Museum, Berkley, CA (Goldberg's Marketplace, hand-colored litho was on the cover of the exhibit catalog.
1997 - One Man Exhibit, "Chaim Goldberg at 80," Nathan B. Rosen Museum, Adolph Rose Levis JCC, Boca Raton, FL
1997 - One Man Exhibit, "Remembering the Shtetl - 75 Years of the Art of Chaim Goldberg," Texas Union Art gallery, UT Austin, TX.
2002 - One Man Exhibit, "Oil Paintings of the Shtetl," Shir Art Gallery, Southfield, MI
2003 - One Man Exhibit, "Landscapes and Observations," Shir Art Gallery, Southfield, MI
2004 - One Man Exhibit, "Engravings and Lithos," Shir Art Gallery, Southfield, MI
Collections
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 20th Century Permanent Art Collection, New York, NYMuseum of Modern Art, New York, NY
President's House, Jerusalem, Israel
Museum Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, Israel
City of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
Museum Yad Labanim, Petach Tikvah, Israel
Museum Petit Palais, Geneva, Switzerland
National Museum, Warsaw, Poland
Jewish Museum, Warsaw, Poland
Klingspore Museum, Offenbach, Germany
National Gallery of Art, Lessing Rosenwald Collection, Washington, DC
National Collection of Art, Washington, DC
Smithsonian Institution, Hall of Graphic Arts, Washington, DC
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Lowe Museum University, Miami, FL
Museum of Fine Art, Boston, MA
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT
Judaica Museum, Phoenix, AZ
Public Library Art Collection, San Francisco, CA
New York Public Library, New York, NY
Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT
Springfield Museum of Art, Springfield, MA
Houston Museum of Fine Art, Houston, TX
Houston Public Library, Houston, TX
Spertus Jewish Museum, Chicago, IL
Judah L. Magnes Museum, Berkley, CA
Skirball Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Yeshiva University, New York, NY
YIVO, New York, NY