Leonard Baskin was a wonderful artist whose works continue to captivate viewers with their detailed mystical intricacies and deep emotional intensity. He was a sculptor, printer, illustrator, book designer, and all-around artist. He was also referred to as a woodcut master. If you're in the market to buy antique art, consider adding a Leonard Baskin piece to your collection.
These titles were bestowed upon the man who was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the child of an orthodox rabbi, an immigrant from Poland. Although religious prohibitions existed, he had an early attraction to the visual arts.
In 1929 his family settled in Brooklyn, where Baskin enrolled in a yeshiva. At the same time, he started his artistic life in the School of the Arts at the Education Alliance, which was the intellectual and social centre of East Side Jewish life. The atmosphere of the school, where A. Gottlieb, B. Shahn, and M. Rothko's study played a significant role in Baskin's creative formation.He started learning sculpture under M. Glickman just at age of seventeen and had his first display at the Glickman Gallery studio in New York. Baskin later attended schools in New York City, Paris, and Florence, as well as Massachusetts.
LEONARD BASKIN. The Resurrection Of The Dead, We Don’t Believe In It In Any Case, The Owls & The Crows Will Represent Us. Source:davidsongalleries.com
Leonard Baskin's vintage art for sale is highly sought after by collectors and art enthusiasts alike. Baskin originally fascinated in cubism but was captivated to the clean and constructive patterns seen in Ancient East painting.. He then moved on to create bronze statues in an archaic manner and got interested in early European Middle Ages sculpture. German expressionism affected Baskin's work as well.
In the 1950s, he began doing reliefs and established a new image symbolizing evil through birds, especially owls and crows, which then mixed with human shapes to investigate death concepts, evil turning into good, and duality. Art appraisers offer antique valuations for Baskin's works, providing insight into the true worth of these masterpieces. In his mature years, Baskin often turned to religious and mythological symbolism, particularly themes from the Bible. Baskin has been awarded numerous accolades, so me of which include medals from prestigious institutions such as the National Academy of Arts and Letters, American Institute of Graphic Arts, and the National Academy of Design.
When you look into the darkness, the darkness looks into you. It is a way of exploring and understanding our mortality and the darker aspects of life. Leonard Baskin's works explore these themes through his sculptures, reliefs, and prints by creating images that are both haunting and beautiful. For collectors of antique oil paintings, Leonard Baskin's pieces are highly prized for their intricate details and haunting beauty. Baskin's fascination with death and mortality is evident in his works, particularly in his "Dead" series. Baskin's use of religious and mythological symbolism in his works further explores the themes of death and mortality where the merging of bird and man into a single entity is also a recurring theme in his works, symbolizing the duality of life and death. If you're looking to buy vintage paintings, look closely at Baskin's work – its antique painting price is a reflection of his skill as an artist and the rarity of his works.
Cover image: LEONARD BASKIN. Illustration for "Hippolytus". Source: selkirkauctions.com