[From the Community Collection, a public trust in Agincourt, Iowa]

ABELES, Sigmund (born 1934)

Drawing of Young Woman

conté crayon on paper / 22.75 inches x 17.25 inches

ca 1970-1990

Abeles is an American artist, New York-born and raised in South Carolina.

“In my art, the depiction of the human figure is everything.”

Was born in New York City and raised in South Carolina.  He is a noted printmaker, painter and sculptor who is best known for his work with the human figure.  He studied at the University of South Carolina, Brooklyn Museum School, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, and Columbia University. He has taught at Swain School of Design, Wellesley College, Boston University School of Fine Arts, University of New Hampshire and the Art Students League of New York.  His work is in the collections of many museums including The Museum of Modern Art; The British Museum; The Brooklyn Museum; The Metropolitan Museum of Art; National Academy of Design; and New York Public Library.

“His prints, drawings, paintings & sculpture are a body of work which is significant for an inherent sense of beauty and passion, as well as exemplifying a mastery of craft and technique.  His accomplishments have been shaped by an enduring regard for humanistic values as he conducted a never ending search to learn more about his life and his art.”  — Robert M. Doty

“In a time when many artists try their best to be abstract, obscure, and detached from human suffering and human efforts, Sigmund Abeles has the courage to portray real people and even to tell a story in the way artists did for generations. His roots are attached to the soil.”  — Issac Bashevis Singer

Abeles is represented in the collection by a few prints, etchings, but this is the sole drawing.