Zahara Schatz
Encyclopedia
Zahara Schatz (born: 1916, died 1999), was an Israeli fine and decorative artist and daughter of Boris Schatz
, who founded the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design
, as it is known today, in Jerusalem.
in 1916. After studying at the École Nationale Supérieure des arts Décoratifs / National School of Decorative Arts in Paris
, Schatz rose to prominence in Israel
and overseas. She exhibited and won prestigious prizes in the U.S.
and Europe
, including at the Milan Triennale, where she won a special award, and The Museum of Modern Art
in New York
, where she was recognized for a 1951 lamp design. The lamp by Heifetz Manufacturing Company, U.S.
, features a metal conical shade that projects light upward onto a metal disk for deflected illumination. It is one of a number of examples of her work that followed her father's dualism: the pursuit of both fine art and crafts (or design). The base of another more craft-oriented lamp is a sculptural form of a winding snake-like brass tube and bent PMMA with imbedded metal minutiae.
She also participated in the Venice Biennale
of 1959 and designed the gate, built at the Bezalel Academy, of the President's House, Jerusalem.
Schatz lived in a number of places—Israel
, New York
, and Northern California
where she was part of the Big Sur
artists'/writers' colony that included San Francisco sculptor Benny Bufano
, author Henry Miller
, and her brother Bezalel Schatz. She also lived in Berkeley
, California
, where she was close with Courtroom Sketch Artist Rosalie Ritz
, her husband Erwin Ritz and their daughter, Publisher and Managing Editor of The Environmentalist
, Janet Ritz.
Zahara and Bezalel rejected their father's predilection for Romantic Classicism and his dogged development of a Jewish Eretz Israel style in favor of a European-American modernism.
She died in Jerusalem in 1999.
Boris Schatz
Boris Schatz was a Lithuanian Jewish artist and sculptor who founded the Bezalel School in Jerusalem.-Biography:Boris Schatz was born in Varniai, Kaunas district, Lithuania, under the rule of the Russian Empire in 1867. His father, a teacher in a cheder , sent him to study in a yeshiva in...
, who founded the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design
Bezalel Academy of Art and Design
Bezalel Academy of Art and Design is Israel's national school of art, founded in 1906 by Boris Schatz. It is named for the Biblical figure Bezalel, son of Uri , who was appointed by Moses to oversee the design and construction of the Tabernacle ....
, as it is known today, in Jerusalem.
Biography
Schatz was born in Jerusalem in Ottoman PalestinePalestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
in 1916. After studying at the École Nationale Supérieure des arts Décoratifs / National School of Decorative Arts in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Schatz rose to prominence in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and overseas. She exhibited and won prestigious prizes in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, including at the Milan Triennale, where she won a special award, and The Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
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...
, where she was recognized for a 1951 lamp design. The lamp by Heifetz Manufacturing Company, U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, features a metal conical shade that projects light upward onto a metal disk for deflected illumination. It is one of a number of examples of her work that followed her father's dualism: the pursuit of both fine art and crafts (or design). The base of another more craft-oriented lamp is a sculptural form of a winding snake-like brass tube and bent PMMA with imbedded metal minutiae.
She also participated in the Venice Biennale
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...
of 1959 and designed the gate, built at the Bezalel Academy, of the President's House, Jerusalem.
Schatz lived in a number of places—Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, 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...
, and Northern California
Northern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
where she was part of the Big Sur
Big Sur
Big Sur is a sparsely populated region of the Central Coast of California where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. The name "Big Sur" is derived from the original Spanish-language "el sur grande", meaning "the big south", or from "el país grande del sur", "the big...
artists'/writers' colony that included San Francisco sculptor Benny Bufano
Benny Bufano
Beniamino Benvenuto Bufano was a California-based Italian American sculptor, best known for his large-scale monuments, usually of granite. His modernist work often featured smoothly rounded animals and relatively simple shapes.-Biography:Bufano was born in San Fele, Italy. He moved with his...
, author Henry Miller
Henry Miller
Henry Valentine Miller was an American novelist and painter. He was known for breaking with existing literary forms and developing a new sort of 'novel' that is a mixture of novel, autobiography, social criticism, philosophical reflection, surrealist free association, and mysticism, one that is...
, and her brother Bezalel Schatz. She also lived in Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where she was close with Courtroom Sketch Artist Rosalie Ritz
Rosalie Ritz
Rosalie Ritz was an award-winning journalist and courtroom artist who covered major United States trials in the 1960s through the 1990s...
, her husband Erwin Ritz and their daughter, Publisher and Managing Editor of The Environmentalist
The Environmentalist
The Environmentalist is a public interest, eco-investigative journalism site that reports on the geopolitics and science of climate change, general politics, sustainable living, business impact and the history of affected regions.-Founding:...
, Janet Ritz.
Zahara and Bezalel rejected their father's predilection for Romantic Classicism and his dogged development of a Jewish Eretz Israel style in favor of a European-American modernism.
She died in Jerusalem in 1999.
Awards & positions
- 1951: award for a table lamp, Low-Cost Lighting Competition/Exhibition, The Museum of Modern Art, New York
- 1955: Israel PrizeIsrael PrizeThe Israel Prize is an award handed out by the State of Israel and is largely regarded as the state's highest honor. It is presented annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state ceremony in Jerusalem, in the presence of the President, the Prime Minister, the Knesset chairperson, and the...
, for painting and sculpture - 1954: medal of honor, Triennale di Milano
- 1959: Dizengoff PrizeDizengoff PrizeThe Dizengoff Prize for Painting and Sculpture is awarded annually by the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality since 1937.The following is a table of Dizengoff Prize laureates in their respective art form:...
for Sculpture - 1959: participation in the Venice BiennaleVenice BiennaleThe Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...
- 1960: Yad VashemYad VashemYad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
Prize, for a six-branch candelabrum - 1991: Shoshanna Ish-Shalom Prize, Jerusalem
- Adviser on industrial design at Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Exhibition
- "Zahara Schatz: A Retrospective. The Third Exhibition in the Schatz House Series, celebrating 100 Years of Israeli Art," The Artists' House, Jerusalem, 2006.