Eli Jacobi (1898 - 1984)
Printmaker and illustrator Elias Jacobi was born in Khar'kov, Ukraine, Russia in 1898. His art studies began in Palestine, where he attended the Bezalel Art Institute. During the Turkish occupation of Palestine, he was imprisoned in Jersualem, but ultimately emigrated to the United States with the assistance of the American Consul, and settled in New York ca. 1917. There, he studied at the Art Students League, The National Academy of Design, and The Grand Central School of Art.
He worked as a freelance illustrator for numerous newspapers including The New York Times and The New York World and magazines including The Nation and The Saturday Review, but is best remembered for his work for the Graphic Arts Division of the Federal Arts Project of the Works Progress Administration, where he specialized as a block printer.
A large proportion of his printmaking for the WPA between 1935 and 1940 dealt with the impact of the Great Depression on Manhattan life, especially in its poorer neighborhoods such as The Bowery. His work was exhibited at numerous venues including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; The National Arts Club, New York; and The Art Institute of Chicago.
Eli Jacobi's prints are held in the permanent collections of The New York Public Library; The Metropolitan of Art, New York; The Philadelphia Museum of Art; and The Library of Congress. He died in New York City.
Hotel Front
Linocut on thin, translucent paper, 1938; edition of 75. Image size 8" x 10"; sheet size 12" x 16". Titled and signed in pencil by the artist in the lower margin.
The Progress, located at 11 Chatham Square was one of about twenty Bowery flop houses in and near the point named for William Pitt, First Earl of Chatham and twice Prime Minister of Britain, where eight different streets, including the Bowery, converged. With its greasy spoon diners and affordable rooms, the district was a magnet for destitute, emotionally disturbed, and alcoholic castaways, and the locus of numerous memorable scenes of the Depression era in New York created by Jacobi and other printmakers employed by the WPA federal artists project. Apart from a few very small tears and losses at the edges of the sheet, this scarce image is in near fine condition. Ryan 16.
SOLD
Maxie's Moose
Linoleum cut, 1939; edition not stated. Image size 6¾" x 9-5/8" with full margins. Published by W. P. A. Federal Arts Project, New York. A fine impression in overall fine condition. Titled and signed in pencil by the artist in the lower margin; W.P.A. stamp in lower left corner. Archival mat and mount in custom wood frame. Ex corporate collection of the Richard E. Jacobs Group, Cleveland, Ohio.
$2,800
East of the Bowery (Bowery "L")
Linoleum cut, 1939; edition not stated. Image size 6¾" x 9-5/8" with full margins. Artist's monogram in the block and in pencil in the lower margin. A fine impression in overall fine condition. Archival mat and mount in custom wood frame. Ex corporate collection of the Richard E. Jacobs Group, Cleveland, Ohio. Mary Ryan Gallery 10.
$1,900
Bar in Front
Linoleum cut on Japan paper, 1939; edition not stated. Image size 8” x 9¾”; sheet size 12¼” x 15-3/16”. Published by the Federal Artists’ Project of the Works Progress Administration. Artist’s stamp in lower right-hand corner. Beautifully inked impression in fine overall condition.
SOLD
Midwinter Night
Linoleum cut on Japan paper, 1938; edition not stated. Image size 9-7/8” x 7-7/8”; sheet size 14-1/16” x 12-1/8”. Published by the Federal Artists’ Project of the Works Progress Administration. Artist’s stamp in lower right-hand corner. Beautifully inked impression in fine overall condition.
SOLD