Chaim Goldberg

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Chaim Goldberg (March 20, 1917 - June 26, 2004) a Jewish artist, painter, sculptor, and engraver, who is best known for being a chronicler of Jewish life in the small Polish village, or Shtetl Kazimierz-Dolny in southern Poland, where he was born, and painter of Holocaust era art. Goldberg is best remembered through his life-like depictions of the shtetl's colorful characters, and the unique small village lifestyle that has vanished, however his range of themes and other works is often overlooked.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Chaim Goldberg's life as a growing boy in Kazimierz-Dolny changed radically (perphaps even saving him from the Holocaust), after his drawings were discovered on the walls of his father's shoemaker workshop on that fateful fall day in 1931 by Saul Silberstein - a student of Sigmund Freud who was doing post doctorate work on his book, Jewish Village Mannerisms. He needed to have his shoes repaired and noticed the numerous drawings that were pinned to the walls by the pious father, and decided to wait for the young artist. After spending nearly the entire night in viewing a huge trove of drawings and paintings on paper created by the young Chaim Goldberg. In the morning (see photo) Chaim and Saul Silberstein left for Krakow with a large collection of the art in portfolios. The elder Silberstein contacted influential individuals to provide support to the fourteen-year-old artist. Wealthy patrons, such as Felyx Kronstein - Supreme Court Judge and a newspaper publisher recognized his great talent and sponsored his education at the "Mehoffer Krakow High School for Fine Arts", from which he graduated in 1935, and later at the "Academy of Fine Arts" in Warsaw, where he was the youngest student (at 17) to enter the prestigious school, from which he graduated in 1938. World War II interrupted his artistic development, and he became a refugee in Siberia. He went to Ecole Nationale de Beaux Art, Paris, France on a fellowship from the Polish Government from 1947-1949, and then in 1955, he and his wife Rachel with their two sons, Victor and Shalom were allowed to leave Communist Poland, despite protest from the Ministry of Culture, and emigrated to Israel. His greatest desire was to paint the world of his childhood, which he knew and remembered so well.

Chaim Goldberg, circa 2000.

Chaim Goldberg, woodengraving in his outdoor studio, Houston, TX, circa 1977.

Chaim Goldberg, in his Boca Raton, FL home and studio, Fall of 1995.

[edit] Emigration to the United States

In 1967, Goldberg arrived in the United States, with a two-year business visa on an exhibition-tour and continued to paint, and create line engravings of his village characters, as well as sculpt. His and subject matter widened while living in New York, in a passioned response to the culture shock which he felt since arriving in the big city from Israel. He found himself confronted with, what he called 'the great human jungle,' and in 1972 it became one of his "themes." He and his family decided to become citizens of the United States in 1973. His depictions of the world in which he grew up came to the attention of I. B. Singer the 1978 - Nobel Prize Laureate whom he befriended while living in New York, and who hailed Chaim Goldberg as the true visual story-teller of the shtetl, in an introduction to an exhibit catalog, he wrote, "Chaim Goldberg came from the shtetl and remembers its every detail. He is never abstract but is true to the objects and their divine order. His work is enriching Jewish art and the image of our tradition."

The Wedding - oil painting by Chaim Goldberg, 1962. In the collection of the Spertus Museum, Chicago, IL

New Torah - oil painting by Chaim Goldberg, 1964. In the collection of the Spertus Museum, Chicago, IL

Wash day - wash and ink by Chaim Goldberg, 1953

My House - Oil on canvas by Chaim Goldberg, 1963

WATERCOLORS OF SHTETL LIFE

The Matchmaker Watercolor and ink on paper, 1971.

Spinning Watercolor and ink on paper, 1963.

Three Klezmers Watercolor and ink on paper, 1967.

Fiddler by My House Watercolor and ink on paper, 1963.

CHAIM GOLDBERG ON EXHIBIT

Chaim Goldberg, A self portrait in pen wash and ink, 1954. Goldberg's piercing look hold both the melancholy that he had to deal with throughout his life as an artist who felt a sense of survivor's guilt.

Chaim Goldberg's Exhibit at the University of Texas, April, 1997

Chaim Goldberg's Exhibit at the Rosen Museum, Boca Raton, April, 1997

Chaim Goldberg standing next to his carving in oak, (full trunk) titled, Triumph II, Spring, 1980, at his sculpture studio in Houston, TX.

[edit] Chaim Goldberg's Art Blossoms

New York was a definite culture shock to the artist. As he began to make his transition to his new home in America's busiest city, the American experience and the environment around him of the new, modern world, had an indelible impact. His "Culture Shock" series and other series based on real life and politics of the period exemplifies the range of his talent to make visual commentaries in freehand drawings on subjects that have filled volumes of books. The mass of cars and the various road-styles of the drivers made a lasting impression on the artist and moved him to create another series of work he called the "Mad Drivers." He observed the mannerisms of drivers in New York City and later in Houston, Texas and created drawings in the evenings, splitting his days into various artistic mediums. He 'evolved' these drawings later into oil paintings that are clearly the works of a master.

The Flatways oil on panel, 1975.

The Speedways oil on canvas, 1975.

Mad Drivers at Sunset oil on canvas, 1975.

Mad Drivers by the Bridge oil painting on canvas, 1975.

The Masks We Wear oil painting on panel, 1975.

Duality pastel on paper, 1972.

Perplexed and In Pain pastel on paper, 1972.

The Speed Master oil on panel, 1975.

Some of his work dealt with his own dream sequences, such as the "Violin Thief Sequence" and the "Bird Dream Sequence," while others became accurate predictions of how world events would be reshaped by such leaders as President Ronald Reagan and President Gorbacov and in the artist's life time the oppressive Communist regime would make a sharp turn toward freedom. Goldberg's prophetic drawings foresee the destruction of the 'Evil Empire' years before these events actually unfolded. Illustrated below, are just three of theses larger format drawings from that series created in 1973.

COMMUNISM BEFORE THE FALL - a drawing made in 1973 from a series that predicted the fall of the 'Evil Empire.'

COMMUNISM - THE EAGLE IS DEAD from the series that so accurately predicted the fall of the Communist Empire.

COMMUNISM - THE LIES HAVE BEEN SILENCED from the series that so accurately predicted the fall of the Communist Empire.

In 1974, Chaim attended a performance of the "Emmet Kelly Jr. Circus" and began a series of drawings and other works on paper inspired by the "Circus theme." Then dance took center stage as his main subject. He found that he was able to escape the confines of a representational artist and express his greatest desire, still in a figurative manner, but with the underlying symbolism of what he called, "nations coming together in a dance of brotherhood." The theme of "dance" was also a way for him to break with the stereotype of being viewed as a shtetl-Jewish artist and express himself by carving in wood a whole new range of motion, and the greater human possibilities that are part of the composition.

Creating art for Goldberg became a multi-themed activity within any given day. He divided his time between various rooms in his studio as well as the outdoors and moved from one area to another in a continuous cycle of creative outpouring. He would begin usually well before dawn with a long fast-paced walk, shift over to creating art after capping a daily "ritual" breakfast with a hot tea, in the company of his wife Rachel, (married since 1944). Once in his studio, he would not emerge, other than for a lunch-time meal with his wife, and would end his day, late in the evening.

His body of work on the dance theme, such as paintings, watercolors and sculpture, carved in wood, aggregate concrete is a testament to an artist who had been able to escape the limitations of being cast as a "Jewish artist." Although he enjoyed painting in watercolors as well as oils, his favorite medium and activity was carving dancing figures from blocks of hardwoods, and whole trunks of trees. His sculptures are studies in fluidity and the aspects of negative and positive space.

Closeness an oil painting on canvas, 1978.

I Love You an oil painting on canvas, 1978.

Solo a carving in oakwood, 1979.

The Waltz a carving in Philippine Mahagony, 1978.

Goldberg did not limit himself to drawings, watercolor, oil paintings and sculptures on the Dance Theme, he also went back to his beloved medium of line engraving and created a suite of engravings titled, "Spring". Shown below, the range of the artist's mediums and his sheer force is a celebration of life and his work reach beyond the typical range and creative force of most artists, Jewish or otherwise.

Chaim Goldberg in his Houston, TX sculpture studio next toWe a carving in Texas oak, 10 feet 6 inches tall.

Circle Dance a line engraving in a copper plate. Goldberg proofed and printed his own impressions on his Rembrandt Etching Press right in his own studio.

Spring Dance 2 a line engraving in a copper plate from the suite of six engravings titled, Spring.

Chaim Goldberg creating a hand-engraved image on a copper plate.

[edit] Chaim Goldberg's Holocaust Art

Throughout his entire life, Chaim Goldberg was determined to make eternal the world of the shtetl, then in 1944 while in exile in Russia, Goldberg felt the calling to begin making an effort to document what he heard. with a feverish pace so familiar in his work method, he began to create work that communicated the tragedy. When he returned to Poland with his wife and son, Victor, who was born in Siberia on V-J Day, he made it his point to locate people whom he knew, and who witnessed the killing in his beloved shtetl. A polish woman, who used to light the Sabbath cooking flame for his parents, told him in great detail how the final tragic years unfolded. Goldberg felt compelled to document what he was told by this gentile. What emerged over the years, is a legacy of over 150 works of art, many of which are in the permanent collection of several museums, namely the Spertus Museum in Chicago. Below are a few of these works of art.

1939-1945 a six-panel painting that measures 16 feet long, depicts the various major components of the Holocaust.

Babi-Yar a well known WWII killing field. Oil on canvas, collection of the Spertus Museum, Chicago, IL

Don't Forget a 9-foot tall oil on canvas making several very poignant statements of WWII and man's greatest inhumanity to man. Collection, the Spertus Museum, Chicago, IL

The Dismantling with the shtetl synagogue in flames, and its holy items descrated, some of the local houses, such as the artist's own house served as firewood. The Germans emptied all of the artist's work and then proceeded to take the house apart for firewood.

The Pit A typical pit, dug by the murdered Jews, and filled with their bodies. The artist was told that his family was executed in this manner not far from the shtetl during a death march.

To The Unknown The ever wandering Jew, this time displaced again by another plan to eliminate them, as history has witnessed throughout the ages.

The Black Sun A highly symbolic oil painting on canvas, collection the Spertus Museum, Chicago, IL.

Farewell A drypoint in which the artist recalls the painful time he saw his mother for the last time.

Loaf of Bread A pen wash drawing, 1951. In the collection of the Spertus Museum, Chicago, IL

The Warsaw Ghetto A pen and ink drawing, 1952.

A View In The Warsaw Ghetto A pen and ink drawing, 1952.

A Street View In The Warsaw Ghetto A pen and ink drawing, 1952.

Labor Detail In The Warsaw Ghetto A pen and ink drawing, 1952.

Molotov Bottles A pen and wash and ink drawing, 1952. The artist's friends who fought in the Warsaw Ghetto described the events to him in detail.

A Fight on Mila Street A pen, wash and ink drawing, 1951

[edit] Chaim Goldberg Makes a Full Circle Return to his Shtetl

In 1987, while working on the Holocaust theme, Goldberg made a full circle in his artistic development and returned to his beloved Kazimierz-Dolny to make permanent once again the numerous images that he still recalled so vividly. Over the years he had created many works on paper precisely for this purpose. He planned his return for years while devoting time to other themes which would "demonstrate that I should be taken seriously as an artist in the fullest sense," he would say to his wife Rachel.

The shtetl was Goldberg's most near and dear subject. He made his final return to the theme for the third time, after dealing with his own development and maturity as an artist.

After The Seder an oil painting from the 3rd Shtetl period of Chaim Goldberg.

Purim Parade Goldberg depicts an actual Shtetl re-enactment of the Purim Parade.

Before Dawn Goldberg remembered the klezmers and their families who were hosted in their peasant home for free, and how his father would get up before dawn to rerpair the klezmers shoes for free, and his mother would bake fresh bread; while Chaim and his brother slept on the floor instead of their bed.

Matza Making in the Shtetl Chaim Goldberg, remembered how as a young boy he would participate in the Holiday's Matza making by mixing the flour with the water.

In 1997, at the age of 80, despite a very active lifestyle filled with daily exercise, and amidst his greatest drive to paint a series of large oil paintings about life before World War II, he was diagnosed with a disabling illness, to which he finally succumbed seven painful and suffering-filled years. He died in 2004 in Boca Raton, Florida.

[edit] Exhibitions

1931 - "Polish Landscapes," Group Show, Kazimierz-Dolny, Poland
1934 - Studio Show, Kazmierz-Dolny, Poland
1936 - National Group Show, Warsaw, Poland
1937 - National Group Show, Warsaw, Poland
1940 - National Group Show, Warsaw, Poland
1943 - National Group Show, Warsaw, Poland
1946 - "Poland After World War II" solo show, Shtczechin, Poland
1947 - National Group Show, Warsaw, Poland
1949 - National Group Show, Warsaw, Poland
1950 - National Group Show, Warsaw, Poland
1951 - National Group Show, Warsaw, Poland
1952 - National Group Show, Warsaw, Poland
1965 - One Man Show, Pioneer House, Givataiim, Israel
1966 - Retrospective Show, Museum Yad Labanim, Petach Tikvah, Israel (attended by Mrs. Golda Meir - Prime Minister; and Kadish Luz - Speaker of the House (Knesset).
1967 - One Man Show, LYS Gallery, New York
1968 - One Man Show, Theodore Hertzel Institute, New York, NY
1968 - One Man Show, Mixed Media Art Center, Syracuse, NY
1969 - One Man Show, Paul Kessler Art Gallery, Provincetown, MA
1970 - One Man Show, Paul Kessler Art Gallery, Provincetown, MA
1971 - Large Retrospective Exhibit at the DeAndries Gallery, St' John's University, NY
1972 - One Man Show, Mixed Media, Lincoln Mall Art Center, Miami, FL
1972 - Group Show, Mixed Media, American Congress, Washington, DC
1973 - One Man Show, "Chaim Goldberg's Shtetl" (drawings, watercolors, sculptures, oil pantings and line engravings) Smithsonian Institution, Hall of Graphic Arts, Washington, DC.
1973 - Group Exhibit, "Jewish Motifs and Culture of the 20th Century," Klingspore Museum, Offenbach, Germany
1974 - One Man Show, The Avila Art Center, Jewish Synagogue, Caracas, Venezuela
1977 - Group Show with the Texas Society of Sculptors, Houston Public Library, Main Branch, Houston, TX
1979 - One Man Show, Museum of Printing History, Houston, TX
1982 - Group Exhibit, "Art of the Twentieth Century - A Revelation," Congregation Beth Israel, Houston, TX
1985 - Group Exhibit, "Twenty-Sixth Invitational," Longview Museum of Art, Longview, TX
1994 - Group Exhibit, "Shtetl Life," the Nathan and Faye Hurvitz Collection, the Judah Magnes Museum, Berkley, CA (Goldberg's Marketplace, hand-colored litho was on the cover of the exhibit catalog.
1997 - One Man Exhibit, "Chaim Goldberg at 80," Nathan B. Rosen Museum, Adolph Rose Levis JCC, Boca Raton, FL
1997 - One Man Exhibit, "Remembering the Shtetl - 75 Years of the Art of Chaim Goldberg," Texas Union Art gallery, UT Austin, TX.
2002 - One Man Exhibit, "Oil Paintings of the Shtetl," Shir Art Gallery, Southfield, MI
2003 - One Man Exhibit, "Landscapes and Observations," Shir Art Gallery, Southfield, MI
2004 - One Man Exhibit, "Engravings and Lithos," Shir Art Gallery, Southfield, MI

[edit] Collections

Metropolitan Museum of Art, 20th Century Permanent Art Collection, New York, NY
Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
President's House, Jerusalem, Israel
Museum Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, Israel
City of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
Museum Yad Labanim, Petach Tikvah, Israel
Museum Petit Palais, Geneva, Switzerland
National Museum, Warsaw, Poland
Jewish Museum, Warsaw, Poland
Klingspore Museum, Offenbach, Germany
National Gallery of Art, Lessing Rosenwald Collection, Washington, DC
National Collection of Art, Washington, DC
Smithsonian Institution, Hall of Graphic Arts, Washington, DC
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Lowe Museum University, Miami, FL
Museum of Fine Art, Boston, MA
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT
Judaica Museum, Phoenix, AZ
Public Library Art Collection, San Francisco, CA
New York Public Library, New York, NY
Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT
Springfield Museum of Art, Springfield, MA
Houston Museum of Fine Art, Houston, TX
Houston Public Library, Houston, TX
Spertus Jewish Museum, Chicago, IL
Judah L. Magnes Museum, Berkley, CA
Skirball Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Yeshiva University, New York, NY
YIVO, New York, NY

[edit] Articles

Aloisio, Julie, "Chaim Goldberg's Art Celebrates Life," (The Villager, 1988, Miami, FL)
Alyagon, Ofra, "Chaim Goldberg The Artist," (Life and Problems, July 1966, Paris, France
Amazallag, Giselle, "A Visit with the Artist Chaim Goldberg," (Dimensions Magazine, February/March 1997, Boca Raton, FL
Avidar, Tamar, "Chaim Goldberg Does Not Forget," (Davar Hashavua, 1965, Tel Aviv, Israel
Chir, Myriam, "Chaim Goldberg - Painter and Sculptor," (L'information D'Israel, Feb. 1965, Tel Aviv, Israel
Diamonstein, Barbara, "Chaim Goldberg - From Exile to Genius," Art & Antiques Magazine, June, 2002, USA
Dolbin, B.F., "Chaim Goldberg - The Sholom Aleichem of the Arts," Autlan, July, 1967, New York, NY
Dluznowski-Dunow, M., "Important Exhibit of Chaim Goldberg," (The Forward, 1967, New York, NY
Dluznowski-Dunow, M., "The Painter and Sculptor Chaim Goldberg," (Culture and Life, Polish language publication, 1967, New York, NY).
Evremond-Saint, "Chaim Goldberg," (Le Courier des Arts, June 29, 1967, New York, NY)
Frank, M., "Chaim Goldberg in the Smithsonian National Museum," (The Forward, April, 1973, New York, NY)
Friedman, Sousanna, "A Visit with Chaim Goldberg," (The Bulletin - American Jewish Libraries, 1978)
Kantz, Shimon, "The Artist Chaim Goldberg," (Yiddishe Shriftin, Oct., 1954, Warsaw, Poland)
Hall, D., "Goldberg at the Caravan," (Park East Nov. 1st, 1973, New York, NY)
Kiel, C., "The Dynamic Jewish Artist Chaim Goldberg," (The Forward, 1987, New York, NY)
Luden, Itzchak, "Chaim Goldberg in the Smithsonian National Museum," (The Forward, April 1973, New York, NY)
Massney, P., "Proud Moment," (The Long Island Press, March 31st, 1971, NY)
Paris, J., "Chaim Goldberg to Exhibit Art," (The Long Island Press, March 28th, 1971, NY)
Paris, J., "Exhibit Aides Council Reach a Goal," (The Long Island Press, April 5th, 1971, NY)
Robak, Kazimierz, "I Left My Heart There," (Gazeta Antykwaryczna, Part 1 of 3, October 2000, Krakow, Poland)
Robak, Kazimierz, "I Left My Heart There," (Gazeta Antykwaryczna, Part 2 of 3, November 2000, Krakow, Poland)
Robak, Kazimierz, "I Left My Heart There," (Gazeta Antykwaryczna, Part 3 of 3, December 2000, Krakow, Poland)
Robak, Kazimierz, "Kuzmir in Chaim Goldberg’s painting," (Spotkania z Zabytkami, Vol. 3 (253), March 2008. 12-15. Warsaw, Poland)
Rogers, M., "Goldberg Pursues New Directions," (Houston Chronicle, Oct. 12th, 1977, Houston, TX)
Samuels, J., "An Artist and His Wife," (Jewish Herald-Voice, March, 1978, Houston, TX)
Samsot-Hawk, Kathleen, "Chaim Goldberg," (Art Voices, November/December 1977)
Scott, Paul, "Chaim Goldberg: An Artist Reborn," (Southwest Art Magazine, July/August 1975, Houston, TX)
Shirey, david, "Chaim Goldberg's Art Shown in Queens," (New York Times, March, 19th 1971, NY)
Shmulevitz, I., "The Exhibit of the Artist Chaim Goldberg," (The Forward, March 13th, 1971, NY)
Shneiderman, Emil, "The Art of Chaim Goldberg," (The Day Journal, July 2nd, 1967, New York, NY)
Shneiderman, Emil, "Chaim Goldberg's Art on Exhibit in Queens," (The Day Journal, March 14, 1971, New York, NY)
Staingart, T., "An Exhibition of Paintings by Chaim Goldberg," (The Forward, 1967, New York, NY)
Taube, H., "The Lost World Recaptured in Art," (The Baltimore Jewish Times, April 1973, Baltimore, MD)
Tennenbaum, Shea, "Chaim Goldberg, The Artist From Kazimierz-Dolny," (The Voice, October 10th, 1967, New York, NY)
Tennenbaum, Shea, "Chaim Goldberg's Jews Live Forever," (The Voice, October 1967, Paris, France)
The Forward, "Chaim Goldberg's Art Exhibited at the Hertzel Institute," (The Forward, April 12th, 1968, New York, NY)
The Forward, "Leivik House in Tel Aviv Receives Gift from Acknowledged Artist Chaim Goldberg," (The Forward, April 12th, 1970, New York, NY)
The Buffalo Jewish Review, "The Artist Goldberg Exhibits," (December 6th, 1970, Buffalo, NY)
The Houston Chronicle, "Central Library to Unveil A New Goldberg Sculpture," (October 31st, 1980, Houston, TX)
Waisman, Gavriel, "The Artist Chaim Goldberg," (The Day, May 1966, Tel Aviv, Israel)
Waisman, Gavriel, "The Artist Chaim Goldberg," (Life and Problems, July 1966, Paris, France)
Zonshain, Jacob, "The Prolific Artist," (Folkshtime, November 15th, 1949, Warsaw Poland)

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