Art and designנחום גוטמן

Nachum Gutman

Nachum Gutman was an Israeli painter, sculptor, illustrator and children's writer who received the Israel Prize for children's literature in 1978.

1898 to 1980Paintings of early Tel AvivIllustrating Hebrew children's booksPath of Orange PeelsPublic mosaics in Tel Aviv

Born: 15 October 1898, Telenești
Died: 28 November 1980, Tel Aviv
Occupation: sculptor, painter, children's writer, writer
Education: Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium

Nachum Gutman was born in 1898 in Telenești

Gutman was born in 1898 in Telenești, Bessarabia, then part of the Russian Empire. His father was the Hebrew writer and educator S. Ben Zion. The family moved to Odessa in 1903 and to the Land of Israel in 1905, settling near Jaffa and later in Neve Tzedek.

He studied at the Herzliya Gymnasium and then at the Bezalel School in Jerusalem. Near the end of World War I he volunteered for the Jewish Legion. From 1920 to 1926 he studied art in Vienna, Berlin and Paris.

After returning in 1926 he exhibited his paintings and belonged to the artists of the Land of Israel school. He illustrated hundreds of books, including works by Bialik and his own, and designed the first emblem of Tel Aviv. His mosaics and murals stand in public places in Tel Aviv.

In 1928 he married Dora Yaffe, and their son Menachem was born in 1936. Gutman died in Tel Aviv in 1980. A museum of his work was established in Neve Tzedek.