Background
Nachum Gutman was born in Teleneşti, Bessarabia Governorate (Moldova, Romania), then a part of the Russian Empire. His father was a Hebrew writer and educator who wrote under the pen name S. Ben Zion.
painter sculptor writer children"s writer
Nachum Gutman was born in Teleneşti, Bessarabia Governorate (Moldova, Romania), then a part of the Russian Empire. His father was a Hebrew writer and educator who wrote under the pen name S. Ben Zion.
In 1908, Gutman attended the Herzliya Gymnasium in Tel Aviv. In 1912, he studied at the Bezalel School in Jerusalem. In 1920-1926, he studied art in Vienna, Berlin and Paris.
He was the fourth child of Alter and Rivka Gutman. In 1903, the family moved to Odessa, and two years later, to Ottoman Palestine. Gutman was married to Dora, with whom he had a son.
After Gutman"s death in 1980, Dora asked two Tel Aviv gallery owners, Meir Stern of Stern Gallery and Miriam Tawin of Shulamit Gallery, to appraise the value all of the works left in his estate.
Gutman helped pioneer a distinctively Israeli style, moving away from the European influences of his teachers. He worked in many different media: oils, watercolours, gouache and pen and ink.
His sculptures and brightly colored mosaics can be seen in public places around Tel Aviv. Indoor murals depicting the history of Tel Aviv can be seen in the western wing of the Shalom Tower and the Chief Rabbinate building.
A mosaic fountain with scenes from Jewish history stands at the corner of Bialik Street, opposite the old Tel Aviv municipality building.
In 2009 these mosaics were moved to a location at the southern end of Rothschild Boulevard. Gutman"s artistic style was eclectic, ranging from figurative to abstract. Gutman was also a well-known writer and illustrator of children"s books
1961 A mosaic wall at the Chief Rabbinate building, Tel Aviv 1966 A mosaic wall at Migdal Shalom (Shalom Tower), Tel Aviv 1967 A mosaic wall for Herzliya high school, Tel Aviv 1976 History of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, mosaic, Bialik Square, Tel Aviv.