Nachum Gutman


Image:HHGM 20121230 153928.jpg|thumb|Nachum Gutman mosaic wall at Shalom Tower, where the old Herzliya Gymnasium once stood; detail showing orchards and a saqiya fountain outside old Jaffa
Nachum Gutman was a Moldovan-born Israeli painter, sculptor, and author.

Biography

Nachum Gutman was born in Teleneşti, Bessarabia Governorate, then a part of the Russian Empire. He was the fourth child of Simha Alter and Rivka Gutman. His father was a Hebrew writer and educator who wrote under the pen name. In 1903, the family moved to Odessa, and two years later, to Ottoman Palestine. In 1908, Gutman attended the Herzliya Gymnasium in what would later become Tel Aviv. In 1912, he studied at the Bezalel School in Jerusalem. In 1920–26, he studied art in Vienna, Berlin and Paris.
Gutman was married to Dora, with whom he had a son. After Gutman's death in 1980, Dora asked two Tel Aviv gallery owners, Meir Stern of Stern Gallery and Miriam Tawin of Shulamit Gallery, to appraise the value all of the works left in his estate.

Artistic career

Image:Gutmanstudio.jpg|thumb|Gutman's studio, Nahum Gutman Museum of Art
Gutman helped pioneer a distinctively Israeli style, moving away from the European influences of his teachers. He worked in many different media: oils, watercolours, gouache and pen and ink.
His sculptures and brightly colored mosaics can be seen in public places around Tel Aviv. Indoor murals depicting the history of Tel Aviv can be seen in the western wing of the Shalom Tower and the Chief Rabbinate building.
A mosaic fountain with scenes from the early days of Tel Aviv and biblical stories connected to Jaffa, stood for 32 years at the end of Bialik Street, opposite the old Tel Aviv municipality building. In 2012 this mosaic fountain was reinstalled at the southern end of Rothschild Boulevard.
Gutman's artistic style was eclectic, ranging from figurative to abstract. Gutman was also a well-known writer and illustrator of children's books.

Awards and recognition

Gutman received many art and literary prizes:
The Nachum Gutman Museum, showcasing the artist's work, was established in the Neve Tzedek neighborhood of Tel Aviv.

Outdoor and public art

  • 1961 A mosaic wall at the Chief Rabbinate building, Tel Aviv
  • 1966 A mosaic wall in memory of the Herzliya high school at Migdal Shalom, Tel Aviv
  • 1976 History of Jaffa and Tel Aviv, mosaic-decorated fountain, initially Bialik Square, now southern end of Rothschild Boulevard Tel Aviv

Published works

  • Path of the Orange Peels: Adventures in the Early Days of Tel Aviv Dodd, Mead & Company, 1979
  • "Seven Mills and Another Station", Yavneh 1956
  • "In the Land of Lobengulu King of Zulu", Massadah 1940