Gershon Iskowitz
(1919 - 1988) RCA
Previously Sold Works
GERSHON ISKOWITZ
Night Blue Red - B
oil on canvas
signed, titled and dated 1981 on the reverse
54 x 45 ins ( 137.2 x 114.3 cms )
Auction Estimate: $25,000.00 - $35,000.00
Price Realized $47,200.00
Sale date: September 24th 2020
GERSHON ISKOWITZ
Deep Red #7
oil on canvas
signed, titled and dated 1977 on the reverse
38 x 42 ins ( 96.5 x 106.7 cms )
Auction Estimate: $20,000.00 - $25,000.00
Price Realized $38,400.00
Sale date: June 8th 2023
GERSHON ISKOWITZ
Variation on Green #1
acrylic on canvas
signed, titled and dated 1975 on the reverse
47 x 40 ins ( 119.4 x 101.6 cms )
Auction Estimate: $18,000.00 - $22,000.00
Price Realized $28,800.00
Sale date: December 1st 2022
GERSHON ISKOWITZ
Night Blues - G
oil on canvas
signed, titled and dated 1981 on the reverse
39.25 x 34 ins ( 99.7 x 86.4 cms )
Auction Estimate: $18,000.00 - $22,000.00
Price Realized $21,240.00
Sale date: May 29th 2018
GERSHON ISKOWITZ
Painting A
oil on canvas
signed, titled and dated 1982 on the reverse
45 x 39 ins ( 114.3 x 99.1 cms )
Auction Estimate: $20,000.00 - $30,000.00
Price Realized $20,700.00
Sale date: November 22nd 2016
GERSHON ISKOWITZ
Spring Yellows - B
oil on canvas
signed, titled and dated 1982 on the reverse
39 x 34 ins ( 99.1 x 86.4 cms )
Auction Estimate: $18,000.00 - $22,000.00
Price Realized $18,400.00
Sale date: November 23rd 2017
GERSHON ISKOWITZ
Blue Violet - A
acrylic on canvas
signed, titled, dated 1983 with the Gershon Iskowitz Foundation stamp (Inventory #B48) on the reverse
24 x 39 ins ( 61 x 99.1 cms )
Auction Estimate: $8,000.00 - $12,000.00
Price Realized $13,200.00
Sale date: June 9th 2021
GERSHON ISKOWITZ
Sketch for Tapestry
oil on canvas board
signed and dated 1976 lower right
20 x 16 ins ( 50.8 x 40.6 cms )
Auction Estimate: $10,000.00 - $15,000.00
Price Realized $10,800.00
Sale date: June 9th 2021
GERSHON ISKOWITZ
Sunlight #5
oil on canvas
signed, titled, dated 1986 and Gershon Iskowitz Foundation stamp (Inventory #B192) on the reverse
44 x 38 ins ( 111.8 x 96.5 cms )
Auction Estimate: $12,000.00 - $15,000.00
Price Realized $9,600.00
Sale date: December 6th 2023
GERSHON ISKOWITZ
Late Summer Evening
oil on canvas
signed and dated 1962 lower right; Gershon Iskowitz Foundation stamp (Inventory #B19) on the reverse
45 x 50 ins ( 114.3 x 127 cms )
Auction Estimate: $25,000.00 - $35,000.00
Price Realized $17,100.00
Sale date: June 15th 2022
GERSHON ISKOWITZ
October #2
oil on canvas
signed, titled and dated 1976 on the reverse
55 x 47 ins ( 139.7 x 119.4 cms )
Auction Estimate: $30,000.00 - $40,000.00
Price Realized $48,300.00
Sale date: May 29th 2014
GERSHON ISKOWITZ
Violet - A
oil on canvas
signed, titled and dated 1979 on the reverse
38 x 33 ins ( 96.5 x 83.8 cms )
Auction Estimate: $20,000.00 - $30,000.00
Price Realized $21,850.00
Sale date: November 25th 2015
GERSHON ISKOWITZ
To Market (Toronto)
watercolour
signed and dated 1952 lower right; titled to the paper backing
18 x 26.25 ins ( 45.7 x 66.7 cms ) ( sheet )
Auction Estimate: $1,500.00 - $2,500.00
Price Realized $6,600.00
Sale date: November 30th 2021
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.
