Yakov Epshtain
| Yakov Epshtain | |
|---|---|
| File:יעקב אפשטיין - פסל ישראלי.jpgיעקב אפשטיין - פסל ישראלי.jpg Yakov Epshtain in his studio | |
| Born | 1921 Kremnica, Poland (now Slovakia) |
| 💀Died | 1 December 2003 Tel Aviv1 December 2003 |
| 🏳️ Nationality | Israeli |
| 🏫 Education | Lviv National Academy of Arts |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Known for | Sculpture, Monumental art, Painting |
| 🏅 Awards | Yad Vashem Prize, Bat Yam Art Prize, Honorary Citizen of Bat Yam |
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Yakov Epshtain (1921–2003) was an Israeli sculptor, monumentalist, and educator[1][2]. He is considered one of the founders of modern Israeli monumental art and was named an Honorary Citizen of Bat Yam[3].
Biography
Epshtain was born in 1921 in Kremnica (then in Poland, now Slovakia), into a family of a sculptor and woodcarver, Nachman Epshtain[1][4]. In 1935, he moved to Lviv and enrolled at the Lviv National Academy of Arts, graduating in 1941. During World War II, he served as a telephone operator in the Soviet Army (1941–1946).
From 1946 to 1957, he lived in Lviv, teaching at the academy and participating in the restoration of Renaissance and Baroque architecture in Ukraine and Russia. Among his works were reliefs for the Maykop Cadet School, a memorial near Stalingrad, and a sculptural portrait of Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko (copies are held in Ukraine, Canada, and the US).
In 1957–1959, Epshtain lived in Poland and was a member of the Union of Polish Artists. He received a cultural grant from the Ministry of Culture. His portrait of Sholem Aleichem is held at the Israeli Embassy in Warsaw, with a replica in the Jewish Cultural Center in Wrocław.
In 1959, Epshtain immigrated to Israel with his wife and two daughters, settling in Bat Yam. He was one of the founders of the Bat Yam Institute of Art (1960) and led its sculpture department[1][5]. Among his students were sculptors Sarah Katz, Zahara Rubin, Talia Tokatly, and Yael Shalev. He also taught at the Thelma Yellin School of Arts, Bezalel Academy, and Avni Institute in Tel Aviv.
He became a member of the Israel Association of Painters and Sculptors in 1960. His works are in the Mishkan Museum of Art, Tel Aviv University, Ben-Gurion University, Bat Yam Auditorium, Holon Municipal Museum, Beit Yatziv, and hospitals such as Sharon and Wolfson.
His sculptures are part of the permanent collection of the David Ben-Ari Museum of Contemporary Art in Bat Yam. Epshtain created numerous public monuments, including:
- A memorial to the fallen of Hof HaCarmel Plain (Atlit)
- A statue of Janusz Korczak and his pupils in Bat Yam
- A bust of journalist Ilan Roeh in Beit Sokolov, Tel Aviv
Epshtain passed away in 2003. He is survived by his daughters Rachel and Bella. In June 2025, the Bat Yam Institute of Art was named in his honor.
Notable Works
Memorial to Janusz Korczak and His Pupils: A realist-constructionist group sculpture, located in the courtyard of the Bat Yam municipal library "Tarbutek"[6][7][8]. Epshtain received a Yad Vashem award for this work.
Memorial to the Fallen of Hof HaCarmel: Commissioned after the 1967 war, opened in 1972[9][10][11]. The monument consists of 12 seven-meter concrete columns symbolizing the fallen. It includes the names of 98 soldiers and biblical inscriptions from Isaiah and II Samuel.
Portrait of Ilan Roeh: A bust of Israeli journalist Ilan Roeh, killed during a mission in Lebanon in 1999. Installed at Beit Sokolov garden, Tel Aviv.
Relief at Or Shalom Center: A natural stone relief featuring stylized faces, designed in the 1960s for the Bat Yam Institute of Art.
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Memorial to Janusz Korczak and His Pupils (Bat Yam)
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Memorial to the Fallen of Hof HaCarmel
-
A bust of journalist Ilan Roeh (Tel Aviv)
Selected Exhibitions
- 1979 — "Artists Choose Artists," Tel Aviv Museum of Art[12]
- 1980 — "27 Sculptors," Yad LaBanim, Tel Aviv[13]
- 1984 — "80 Years of Sculpture in Israel," Israel Museum, Jerusalem
- 1984 — "25 Years of Bat Yam Institute of Art," Municipal Museum
- 1986–2003 — Solo exhibitions in Tel Aviv, Holon, Ashdod, Herzliya, and Bat Yam
- 2009 — "Craft Room," Bat Yam Museum of Contemporary Art[14]
Awards
- Second Prize – Memorial to the Martyrs of Lviv
- First Prize – Memorial to the Fallen in Ein Carmel[15][16]
- Yad Vashem Prize – Janusz Korczak Monument[3][15]
- First Prize – International Holocaust Resistance Memorial Competition (Yad Vashem)
- First Prize – City Sculpture, Ashdod
- Three-time Bat Yam Art Prize laureate
- Lifetime Achievement Award – Israel Association of Painters and Sculptors
- Honorary Citizen of Bat Yam[3]
Legacy
In 2025, the Bat Yam Institute of Art was officially named after Yakov Epshtain.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "יעקב אפשטיין" [Yakov Epstein]. Bat Yam Municipality (in עברית). עיריית בת־ים. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
- ↑ "Yaakov Epstein". Information Center for Israeli Art. The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "יעקב אפשטיין" [Yakov Epstein]. Bat Yam Municipality (in עברית). Retrieved 26 October 2025.
- ↑ "יעקב אפשטיין" [Yaakov Epstein]. מרכז מידע לאמנות ישראלית (in עברית). מוזיאון ישראל, ירושלים. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
- ↑ "על המכון" [About the Institute]. Bat Yam Culture, Leisure and Sports Company (in עברית). Retrieved 26 October 2025.
- ↑ "Korczak and his children — model for a monument by Yaakov Epstein". The Janusz Korczak Living Heritage Association. Florida Center for Instructional Technology, University of South Florida. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
- ↑ "Korczak and his children — model for a monument by Yaakov Epstein (image page)". The Janusz Korczak Living Heritage Association. Florida Center for Instructional Technology, University of South Florida. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
- ↑ "The model of a monument commemorating Janusz Korczak and the children". Ghetto Fighters’ House Museum – InfoCenter. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
- ↑ "חורשה ואנדרטה לזכר הנופלים מיישובי המועצה האזורית חוף הכרמל" [Grove and memorial for the fallen of the Hof HaCarmel Regional Council]. Izkor – Commemoration (in עברית). Israel Ministry of Defense. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
- ↑ "אנדרטה לבני יישובי המועצה האזורית חוף הכרמל" [Memorial to the sons of Hof HaCarmel Regional Council]. Hof HaCarmel Regional Council (in עברית). Retrieved 26 October 2025.
- ↑ "אנדרטת בני חוף הכרמל" [Memorial to the Fallen of Hof HaCarmel]. iNature (טבע ונופים בישראל) (in עברית). Retrieved 26 October 2025.
- ↑ "Exhibitions: Yaakov Epstein". Information Center for Israeli Art. The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
- ↑ "מוזיאון ישראל – תערוכות: יעקב אפשטיין" [Israel Museum – Exhibitions: Yaakov Epstein]. מרכז מידע לאמנות ישראלית (in עברית). מוזיאון ישראל, ירושלים. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
- ↑ "יעקב אפשטיין – פסל / תערוכה: אוצרת ומפיקה – הלי גוברין" [Yakov Epstein – Sculptor / Exhibition catalogue (curator: Heli Govrin)]. National Library of Israel (in עברית). NLI. 2007. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 "יעקב אפשטיין" [Yaakov Epstein]. Israel Museum – Information Center for Israeli Art (in עברית). Retrieved 26 October 2025.
- ↑ "אנדרטה וזכר לוחמים תוקם ליד עין כרמל" [Memorial to the Fallen to be Built near Ein Carmel]. Maariv (in עברית). 16 April 1968. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
External Links
- Israel Museum Art Center Entry
- Bat Yam Municipality Archive (Hebrew)
- Biderman Art Gallery Profile (Hebrew)
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