Yehezkel Streichman (1906-1993) – Portrait of the Collector Rami Cohen, 1980 – Watercolor and Charcoal on Paper

Yehezkel Streichman (1906-1993) – Portrait of the Collector Rami Cohen, 1980 – Watercolor and Charcoal on Paper

Yehezkel Streichman (1906-1993), Portrait of the Collector Rami Cohen, 1980.
Watercolor and charcoal on paper. Signed and dated.
Approx. 78X78 cm. Good condition. Framed; not examined outside frame.
Yehezkel Streichman (1906-1993), native of Kovno county, Russian Empire (today Lithuania), immigrated to Palestine in 1924 and studied art at the Bezalel School for Arts and Crafts. Upon completing his studies, traveled to Paris and studied architecture. Then studied painting in Florence, Italy (1928-31). Returned to Palestine in 1936, settling in Tel Aviv. Taught at the Avni Institute, and along with Avigdor Stematsky, established the Studiah school for painting. Streichman was also among the founders of the "Ofakim Hadashim" ("New Horizons") group. Three-time winner of the Dizengoff Prize for Painting and Sculpture, and laureate of the Israel Prize in the category of painting in 1990.
In the 1930s and 1940s, Streichman's work began exhibiting signs of Expressionism, and in the 1950s his output became steadily more abstract. Streichman has been regarded as one of Israel's foremost abstract artists, and a number of Israel's most notable artistic talents over the years were students of his.
Provenance: The Rami Cohen Collection.

Art collector Rami Cohen (1941-2018), native of Poland, immigrated to Israel with his family in 1948. Educated in Moshav Nahalal, he began painting already in his youth. Served as a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces' standing army, and was decorated for the act of evacuating wounded soldiers under fire. Cohen was injured his right hand in the course of his army service, the injury leaving him disabled and unable to pursue his dream of becoming an artist. Nevertheless, he never lost his love for art, and the adversity he experienced simply led him to change direction from artist to art collector, and to devote much of his strength and wealth toward assembling his collection, leading him to become a passionately involved participant and a dominant influence in a number of different artistic circles. He organized and curated various art exhibitions, including, for example, "Nation Builds Land: Israeli History as Mirrored through Art" (1988) at the Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art. His collection includes portraits by Yehezkel Streichman and Menashe Kadishman who personally presented them to him as gifts, as a token of their friendship. He similarly established close friendships with many other artists. Ensuring that Israeli art command the respect it deserved was high among his lifelong list of priorities, as was the challenge of enabling artists to thrive and prosper; to that end, he lent his personal assistance to artists seeking to advance their professional careers. He took a special interest in artists such as Michail Grobman, Shmuel Ackerman, and others arriving in Israel from the former Soviet Union, and helped bring them into the public spotlight. Initiated and edited the online database entitled "Omanut Israel" (or "Art 23,") which included articles and media reviews in addition to a great deal of professional material relating to the Israeli art scene, being utilized by professional and government bodies. His collection is multi-faceted and richly diverse, consisting of artworks by both Israeli and non-Israeli artists, representing a broad spectrum of artistic styles, schools, and trends – a collection that reflects significant and fascinating developments in the field of Israeli art over a period of several decades, all from the point of view of a true lover of art.