Lea Nikel (1918-2005), Untitled, 1997. Oil pastel on paper. Signed and dated. 18X34.5 cm. Lea Nikel (1918-2005) was born in Zhitomir (Zhytomyr), Ukraine, and immigrated to Palestine with her family in 1920. Her first steps in the art of painting were taken at the age of 16, studying under the painter Chaim Gliksberg. Later she was taught by Yehezkel Streichman and Avigdor Stematsky. Nikel spent the years 1950 to 1961 in Paris, where she was introduced to the style of abstract painting known as Tachisme, and her work became gradually more abstract. In 1957, Nikel underwent surgery to treat a hemorrhage, and lost her vision almost entirely in the process. That did not stop her from continuing her art career. She stood out as an artist who defied categorization, and persisted with the unique style of abstraction she had developed, even as artistic styles in Israel were moving in other directions. The Israel Museum awarded Nikel the Sandberg Prize for Israeli Art in 1972. She went on to win the Dizengoff Prize in 1982, and, alongside Menashe Kadishman, the Israel Prize for Painting in 1995. Provenance: The Uzi Agassi Collection.