Tadeusz Rychter (1873-1943), The Artist's Spouse (?), 1920.
Watercolor on heavy paper. Signed and dated.
Tadeusz Rychter, born in Poland, studied at the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. He married the Polish artist and socialite Bronisława Janowska, but the two separated after several years and Rychter moved to Munich, where he met his partner in life and art, Anna May-Rychter. In Munich, Rychter was introduced to the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, founder of anthroposophy, and was captivated by it. The Rycters soon became ardent anthroposophists and worked on decorating the first Goetheanum, the anthroposophical movement center in Dornach, Switzerland.
In ca. 1924, the Rychters were commissioned to paint watercolors of the Holy sites in Palestine by a company that sold the paintings in Europe. They settled in Jerusalem, creating delicate watercolors depicting the views and people of Palestine and commissioned portraits. Rychter was also hired to take part in the restoration of a church in Bethlehem. The Rychters displayed their works in various exhibitions. A review of a joint exhibition of their works at the Bezalel National Art Museum ("Doar Hayom", May 6, 1927) noted: "…Rychter is unique in his ability, not only in Palestine, but in Europe as well. He is one of the few who perfected the watercolor portrait. He was able to convey the subtlety of the tone […] and mainly the emotional expression. Here, the transparency of watercolors helps the artist peer through the skin into the subject's soul. Of all the portraits on display, most noticeable was the portrait of Mrs. Rychter (the artist's wife), which is as expertly executed as works by the greatest English aquarellists…" (Hebrew).
In 1935 Tadeusz Rychter applied for membership in the Palestine Artists' Association but was turned down, most probably because of his religion. In 1939, he was invited to Poland to create frescos for a new church, and with the outbreak of World War II was unable to return to Palestine. As far as is known, Ryhcter was arrested and murdered by the Nazis.
42X33 cm, in a 78X69.5 cm frame. Good condition. Minor blemishes to frame. Unexamined out of frame.
Provenance: The collection of Simcha Holtzberg, "Father of the Wounded Soldiers".
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Simcha Holtzberg (1924-1994), also known as the "Father of the Wounded Soldiers", loreate of the 1976 Israel Prize, was born in Warsaw, Poland, and experienced firsthand the horrors of the Holocaust in the Warsaw Ghetto and the camps of Budzyń and Bergen-Belzen. After the liberation, he immigrated to Palestine, married and started a family, making a living trading in Judaica and art. Since the Six-Day War, he devoted much of his time and efforts to helping wounded and disabled IDF soldiers and bereaved families. He visited wounded soldiers in hospitals, supporting them both spiritually and financially and accompanying them in their recovery as a real father would.
From Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s eulogy in memory of Simcha Holtzberg: "This man, snatched from the fire of the Holocaust, so deeply concerned for the State of Israel, a haven for Holocaust refugees, did everything in his power so that the catastrophe would be remembered. The terrors of the Holocaust followed him like a shadow, fueling his love of the State, the wounded, the disabled, the bereaved families […] in the name of the Israel Defense Forces and in the name of the State of Israel, I salute you, Simcha".

Baruch Nachshon (b. 1939), The Feast of Leviathan, 1977.
Oil on Masonite. Signed and dated.
Baruch Nachshon, born in Haifa, studied art with photographer and painter Shlomo (Neroni) Narinsky. Nachshon, a Chabad hassid, was awarded a scholarship to study art in New York by the Lubavitcher Rebbe. At the Rebbe's request, Nachshon held an exhibition of his work at the Chabad World Headquarters, and the Rebbe, after touring the exhibition, urged him to "disseminate his art by any means, across the whole world". He lives in Hebron and his works are largely inspired by biblical, midrashic and aggadic themes.
49.5X19 cm, in a 76.5X46.5 cm frame. Good condition. Minor blemishes to frame.
Provenance: The collection of Simcha Holtzberg, "Father of the Wounded Soldiers".
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Simcha Holtzberg (1924-1994), also known as the "Father of the Wounded Soldiers", loreate of the 1976 Israel Prize, was born in Warsaw, Poland, and experienced firsthand the horrors of the Holocaust in the Warsaw Ghetto and the camps of Budzyń and Bergen-Belzen. After the liberation, he immigrated to Palestine, married and started a family, making a living trading in Judaica and art. Since the Six-Day War, he devoted much of his time and efforts to helping wounded and disabled IDF soldiers and bereaved families. He visited wounded soldiers in hospitals, supporting them both spiritually and financially and accompanying them in their recovery as a real father would.
From Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s eulogy in memory of Simcha Holtzberg: "This man, snatched from the fire of the Holocaust, so deeply concerned for the State of Israel, a haven for Holocaust refugees, did everything in his power so that the catastrophe would be remembered. The terrors of the Holocaust followed him like a shadow, fueling his love of the State, the wounded, the disabled, the bereaved families […] in the name of the Israel Defense Forces and in the name of the State of Israel, I salute you, Simcha".

Benn (Benzion Rabinovich; 1905-1989), Flower Vase.
Oil on heavy cardboard. Signed.
62X43 cm, in a 79X60 cm frame. Good condition. Warping to cardboard. Blemishes to frame.

Moshe Bernstein (1920-2006), The Mourner, 1954.
Gouache on Paper. Signed and dated. Titled on verso.
Moshe Bernstein, painter, illustrator and Yiddish poet, was born in Bereza Kartuska, Poland. He studied at the Vilna Academy of Art. During World War II, he escaped to the USSR. In 1947 Bernstein attempted to illegaly immigrate to Palestine with Aliya Bet, and after the illegal immigrant ship on which he sailed was captured by the British, he was sent to the Cyprus detention camps. There he met artist Naftali Bezem and studied in his workshop. A print he created in the workshop was featured in the album "In the Cyprus Exile". Bernstein's art focused mainly on documenting and commemorating the Eastern European shtetl.
Being, by his own definition, "an expressive artist with a surrealistic-symbolic tendency", he failed to achieve recognition from artistic circles in Israel, which for many years favored abstraction. However, his pictures of the shtetl, commemorating a vanished world, were eventually recognized for their artistic value and importance.
59X44.5 cm, in a 76X61.5 cm frame. Good condition. Minor blemishes to margins of leaf. Minor blemishes to frame.
Provenance: The collection of Simcha Holtzberg, "Father of the Wounded Soldiers".
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Simcha Holtzberg (1924-1994), also known as the "Father of the Wounded Soldiers", loreate of the 1976 Israel Prize, was born in Warsaw, Poland, and experienced firsthand the horrors of the Holocaust in the Warsaw Ghetto and the camps of Budzyń and Bergen-Belzen. After the liberation, he immigrated to Palestine, married and started a family, making a living trading in Judaica and art. Since the Six-Day War, he devoted much of his time and efforts to helping wounded and disabled IDF soldiers and bereaved families. He visited wounded soldiers in hospitals, supporting them both spiritually and financially and accompanying them in their recovery as a real father would.
From Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s eulogy in memory of Simcha Holtzberg: "This man, snatched from the fire of the Holocaust, so deeply concerned for the State of Israel, a haven for Holocaust refugees, did everything in his power so that the catastrophe would be remembered. The terrors of the Holocaust followed him like a shadow, fueling his love of the State, the wounded, the disabled, the bereaved families […] in the name of the Israel Defense Forces and in the name of the State of Israel, I salute you, Simcha".