Winter 2018 Preview

Gershon Benjamin was born in Romania in 1899. As a small child Benjamin fled to Montreal with his family to escape persecution of the Jews. In 1923, Gershon and Zelda, an aspiring young actress and his soon to be wife, moved to New York City in pursuit of their artistic careers. Living in the defining age of Modern art movements, his style was influenced by artists including Henri Matisse, Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, Édouard Vuillard, and Rembrandt. He was also a close friend and artistic ally of Milton Avery, and part of an important circle of artists that included Mark Rothko, Adolph Gottlieb, John Sloan, the Soyer brothers and Arshile Gorky. Benjamin worked from dusk to dawn in the art department of the New York Sun newspaper for many years, which enabled him to spend the daytime creating art. Evolving from a budding young impressionist, Benjamin's style was soon influenced by the Modernists, exhibiting a sophisticated balance between realism and abstraction. His work is distinctive as he treats familiar subjects as flat forms using subtle colors. As a proponent of Modernism, Benjamin believed that art should convey beauty, feeling and emotional expression. His array of subjects drew inspiration from the city he loved (New York), people he encountered, and distinctive still life compositions from Zelda's flowers. Throughout his lifetime Benjamin did not seek publicity or commercial recognition of his work. Painting was truly a labor of love for him, and regarding the promotion of his art, was not interested in competing with friends. As he saw it, his career was at the newspaper, his passion was creating art. Jim’s of Lambertville 6 B RIDGE S TREET , L AMBERTVILLE , NJ 08530 609-397-7700 · F AX 609-397-7722 email: info@jimsoflambertville.com Visit our new website at www.jimsoflambertville.com S PECIALIZING IN P ENNSYLVANIA I MPRESSIONIST P AINTINGS ( MAINLY THE N EW H OPE S CHOOL ) G ALLERY H OURS W ED . - F RI . 10:30 - 5:00 S AT . & S UN . 10:30 - 6:00 F OLLOW U S O N Near the River, c. 1957 Oil on canvas, 29 x 36 inches