Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 11

Ervin B. Nussbaum
Large American Modernist Judaica Oil Painting Rabbinic Discussion

About the Item

Ervin B. Nussbaum was born in Columbus, Ohio on November 11, 1914. His father, Marger, had arrived as part of the great Russian Diaspora of the time, when many Jewish families settled in Ohio, particularly in the Columbus area. Nussbaum attended Ohio State University during the Great Depression and continued to live in Ohio until America’s involvement in World War II. His oil painting The End of John Brown, which depicts a fictionalization of the American abolitionist’s final hours, won first prize at the Central Ohio Competition in 1941. The piece then toured the country stopping at the San Francisco Museum, the Butler Art Institute, the Philadelphia Academy and the Corcoran Gallery. Donated in 2001, the painting is now part of the permanent collection at the Torrington Historical Society in Torrington, Connecticut, John Brown’s birthplace. When the war began, Ervin, along with some 40,000 other men of all faiths, became part of the conscientious objector program known as the Civil Public Service. He spent the years 1942 through 1946 interned in government camps from New Hampshire to Maryland, working in public services such as forestry and hurricane cleanup. Many other objectors housed alongside him were of artistic inclination and shared Nussbaum’s conviction of peace, so artistic pursuits were common within these camps. During these early years, his paintings followed a somewhat whimsical figurative style and leaned towards patriotic and Hebraic themes. In time, these themes began to take on an almost Cubist feel and eventually leaned toward complete abstraction. Upon his release from his voluntary conscription as a CPS, Nussbaum moved to New York where he frequently painted semi-abstract landscapes in the local parks, throughout the New England countryside, and at the shorelines. He especially enjoyed painting in the woodland tranquility of Inwood Park in northern Manhattan. He paid special attention to the park’s bird life, which would soon become a new favorite subject. Their graceful movement inspired his creation of a series of avian sculptures in wood, metal or mixed medias. In 1951, he met the dynamic young actress, playwright, musician, and graphic artist Muriel Leventhal. They married and moved to Norwalk, Connecticut in 1959. Nussbaum continued to work in a variety of media and showed regularly in many different galleries throughout Connecticut. His bronze sculptureThree Girls on a Flower was commissioned by the Trumbull Library and a wood bas-relief was created for the sanctuary at the Yonkers Temple Emanuel. Nussbaum would remain in Norwalk until his death in 1996. When contemplating the work of Ervin Nussbaum, we find the soul of a man set in principles of profound religious and patriotic convictions as well as a deep abiding love of nature. His art shows us the evolution of the man through the evolution of the styles he undertook during his lifetime; from figurative, to cubist, to complete abstraction; from oils, to charcoal, to a mixture of media. His works are left to us in museums across the United States, as well as in countless private collections in the U.S. and abroad.
  • Creator:
    Ervin B. Nussbaum (1914-1996, American)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 48 in (121.92 cm)Width: 30 in (76.2 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    Minor wear, small area of imperfection in canvas. selling unframed.
  • Gallery Location:
    Surfside, FL
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU38210806572
More From This SellerView All
  • Jewish Village Palestine/Israel C.1930s Modernist Painting
    By Ida Shelesnyak Mirrof
    Located in Surfside, FL
    Bezalel School Period. Genre: Judaica Subject: People Medium: Oil Surface: Canvas Dimensions: 16" x 20"
    Category

    Early 20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Board

  • Bathers at the Quarry 1940s American Modernist Oil Painting WPA era
    By Theresa Berney Loew
    Located in Surfside, FL
    Swimmers and sun tanners at the local watering hole. Her birth name was Theresa Berney. At the time of her passing she was known as Theresa Loew. Birth place: Baltimore artist, blo...
    Category

    1940s American Modern Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Board

  • Oil Painting Interior Scene Chair w Chinese Rug Joseph Solman American Art WPA
    By Joseph Solman
    Located in Surfside, FL
    Joseph Solman (1909-2008), Chair with Chinese Rug, oil paint on masonite, initialed JS on recto, titled and signed "J.S." verso, Dimensions 14" x 10" Framed to 21 X 17 Provenance...
    Category

    20th Century Modern Interior Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Board

  • Blessing the New Moon, Judaica, Oil Painting
    By Simon Natan Karczmar
    Located in Surfside, FL
    Simon Karczmar, Polish (1903 - 1982) Born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1903, Simon Karczmar studied art in Paris, where he lived for twenty years. Although he left France for Israel in 196...
    Category

    20th Century Modern Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Board

  • LAKEWOOD N.J., 1936 Modernist Oil Painting, Judaica
    By Emanuel Glicenstein Romano
    Located in Surfside, FL
    Genre: Modern Subject: Landscape Medium: Oil Surface: Board Country: United States Dimensions: 30" x 22" EMANUEL ROMANO Rome, Italy, b. 1897, d. 1984 Emanuel Glicenstein Romano was born in Rome, September 23, 1897. His father Henryk Glicenstein was a sculptor and was living in Rome with his wife Helena (born Hirszenberg) when Emanuel was born. His father obtained Italian citizenship and adopted the name Enrico. Emanuel was brought up in Italy, Switzerland, Germany, England and Poland. In 1926 Emanuel and his father sailed for New York. They briefly visited Chicago. Romano's sister, Beatrice, and mother only joined them in New York years later. Romano changed his name on his arrival to America and some have erroneously speculated that this was to avoid antisemitic discrimination. In truth, as the son of a highly-regarded artist, Romano changed his name to ensure that any success or recognition he would later attain, would be the result of nothing other than his own merit as an artist, and not on account of his father's fame. In 1936 Romano was worked for the Federal Art Project creating murals. During and immediately after World War II, Romano created a series of allegorical works depicting graphic holocaust images that were held closely by the family until after his passing. One of these works is now on permanent display in the Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg Florida. Emanuel's father died in 1942 in a car accident before they could realize their shared dream of visiting Israel. In 1944 Romano, having completed his degree at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the Art Institute of Chicago, began teaching at the City College of New York. Romano moved to Safed, Israel in 1953 and established an art museum in his father's memory, the Glicentein Museum. COLLECTIONS Indianapolis Museum of Art Metropolitan Museum of Art Boston Fine Arts Museum Fogg Museum Musée Nacional de France Recently his work has been added to the Florida Holocaust Museum collection. His notable works include his holocaust themed allegorical paintings as well as portraits of Marianne Moore, his father and William Carlos...
    Category

    1930s American Modern Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Board

  • Large Modernist Oil Painting 1940s, Judaica Hasidic Shtetl Wagon Driver WPA Era
    By Emanuel Glicenstein Romano
    Located in Surfside, FL
    Genre: Modern Subject: Landscape with figure of horse, driver and wagon Medium: Oil Surface: wood Board EMANUEL ROMANO Rome, Italy, b. 1897, d. 1984 Emanuel Glicen Romano was born in Rome, September 23, 1897. His father Henryk Glicenstein was a sculptor and was living in Rome with his wife Helena (born Hirszenberg) when Emanuel was born. His father obtained Italian citizenship and adopted the name Enrico. Emanuel was brought up in Italy, Switzerland, Germany, England and Poland. In 1926 Emanuel Glicenstein Romano and his father sailed for New York. They briefly visited Chicago. Romano's sister, Beatrice, and mother only joined them in New York years later. Romano changed his name on his arrival to America and some have erroneously speculated that this was to avoid antisemitic discrimination. In truth, as the son of a highly-regarded artist, Romano changed his name to ensure that any success or recognition he would later attain, would be the result of nothing other than his own merit as an artist, and not on account of his father's fame. In 1936 Romano was worked for the WPA Federal Art Project creating murals. ( there were many jewish artists active with in the WPA period. notably Chaim Gross, Ben Shahn, Isaac and Moses Soyer, Abraham Rattner and many others. During and immediately after World War II, Romano created a series of allegorical works depicting graphic holocaust images that were held closely by the family until after his passing. One of these works is now on permanent display in the Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg Florida. Emanuel's father died in 1942 in a car accident before they could realize their shared dream of visiting Israel. In 1944 Romano, having completed his degree at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the Art Institute of Chicago, began teaching at the City College of New York. Romano moved to Safed, Israel in 1953 and established an art museum in his father's memory, the Glicenstein Museum. COLLECTIONS Indianapolis Museum of Art Metropolitan Museum of Art Boston Fine Arts Museum Fogg Museum Musée Nacional de France Recently his work has been added to the Florida Holocaust Museum collection. His notable works include his holocaust themed allegorical paintings as well as portraits of Marianne Moore, his father and William Carlos Williams...
    Category

    1930s American Modern Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Board

You May Also Like

Recently Viewed

View All