Isaac Soyer

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Isaac Soyer
Born	1902 Borisoglebsk [1] or Tambov [2](disputed), Russia
Died	July 8, 1981 Manhattan, New York, United States of America
Nationality	American
Field	Painter
Movement	Social realist
Works	Employment Agency, Portrait of My Father, Rebecca, and The Art Beauty Shop

Isaac Soyer (1902 — July 8, 1981) was a social realist painter and often portrayed working-class people of New York City in his paintings. ^[3]

[edit] Biography

He was the youngest of three siblings, the others being Moses Soyer and Raphael Soyer, both twins. In 1912, his parents emigrated to New York. ^[2] In his life, he has created several paintings, the most notable being Employment Agency.

A WPA artist, Soyer's "Employment Agency" reveals the social realities of the years of the Great Depression.

Soyer worked at a number of institutions in his life, mostly teaching art:

• Bell Aircraft Corporation in Buffalo, New York during World War II
• Albright Art School at Buffalo, New York during the years 1941-44
• Art Institute of Buffalo and Niagara Falls Art School during the 1940s
• Educational Alliance Art School in New York during the 1950s
• New School for Social Research in 1968
• Art Students League of New York in 1969^[4]

Isaac Soyer painted portraits of friends and relatives and vignettes of working-class life. Several of his principal works are in the collections of important museums such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York, and the Dallas Museum of Art.

Soyer died of a heart attack at Lenox Hill Hospital on July 8, 1981 at age 79 and was residing in Manhattan at the time. ^[5]

[edit] References

1. ^ Soyer. The Columbia Encyclopedia (2001-5). Retrieved on 2007-04-26.
2. ^ ^{a b} Isaac Soyer. Crystal Reference Encyclopedia (2006). Retrieved on 2007-04-26.
3. ^ Isaac Soyer. Smithsonian American Art Museum (2007). Retrieved on 2007-04-26.
4. ^ Isaac Soyer. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition (2001). Retrieved on 2007-04-28.
5. ^ Isaac Soyer, a Painter Of the American Scene. New York Times (16 July 1981). Retrieved on 2007-04-26.