User:Dadartproject911/Benjamin Abramowitz

Benjamin Abramowitz

Summary
Benjamin Abramowitz is known as a prominent artist in the Washington DC arts community, beginning in the 1940s. His prolific career has spanned nearly eight decades. Abramowitz is known for his diverse aesthetic styles in the areas of painting, sculpture, drawing and watercolors.

Early Career
Abramowitz was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1917 to Russian immigrants. As a young child Abramowitz became fascinated by different art forms, much to the dismay of his parents. From an interview with collector and Amity Art Foundation head John Stewart at Juaniata College Museum of Art, Abramowitz said, "I've been an artist all my life. When I was about four or five years old, I saw a little crayon drawing of my father's; it was a love letter he sent to my mother. It just grabbed me. I just went bananas. From then on, I was in love with everything in art: it could be handwriting, it could be printing, it could be illustration, it could be landscape, it could be portraits, it could be still life, it could be anything. And, we're talking about the 1920s." In the interview, Abramowitz goes on to describe how his parents disapproved of his penchant for art: they would destroy all of his drawings, books and supplies. The artist continued his art education against his family's wishes. He attended the Brooklyn Museum School which recognized his talents by honoring him with his first solo exhibition at age 16. He then went on to attend the National Academy of Design to study with master artists.

Works Progress Administration
Abramowitz joined the Works Progress Administration in 1936 under the name Ben Hoffman at just 19 years old. He served as a teacher, mural assistant, and senior printmaker and painter. The artist's appetite for visual statement drew him to the social and political chaos of the Depression, including the tragedies of the poor. Today many of these works are in major museums, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The Met holds eleven lithographs from this period. In recent years there has been a resurgence of interest in the works from the WPA period. A number of works from the Amity Art Foundation Collection, including Abramowitz's lithograph Children at Play, are currently being exhibited in venues around the United States.

Washington, DC
In 1941 he moved to Washington, DC to work on government assignments during World War II. By the time he was in his early 30s, Abramowitz had become a notable figure in the Washington, DC and Baltimore regional art scene. From the 1940s on, he received critical acclaim and competed for and won virtually every prize. His work began to be purchased for major regional collections among them, the Baltimore Art Museum of Art and the Phillips Collection. The Corcoran Gallery of Art selected his work for many of its biennial exhibitions.

By the mid-20th century, Abramowitz became highly known not only for his artistic skills, but also as a teacher and "art coach" throughout the Washington, DC area. In her book, Lilian Thomas Burwell stated, "Bejamin Abramowitz, THE phenomenal artist and teacher, showed me the opening in the earth through which Alice had discovered Wonderland. In Ben's studio class I was faced with a blank canvas and not a clue as to what to do with it. Ben had swept away my carefully arranged still life model." The Ford Foundation chose Abramowitz and sent him throughout the country to lecture as well a conduct seminars and critiques as artist-in-residence.

Later Career
In the later years, Abramowitz worked exclusively with ink, and the continued creating artwork until his mid-80's, when diminishing vision prevented him from continuing to work. Throughout his prolific career, Abramowitz kept journals and maintained an active correspondence with critics, curators, and students. The National Archives of American Art holds hundreds of the artist's papers, letters, and other materials, which were donated in 1978.

Books

 * From Painting to Painting as Sculpture: The Journey of Lilian Thomas Burwell, Hampton VA, 1997
 * Heart of DC: John A. Wilson Building City Hall Art Collection, Washington DC, 2006
 * The Phillips Collection: A Summary Catalogue, Washington DC, 1985