Pinchas Litvinovsky

Pinchas Litvinovsky was born in 1894 in Novoheorhiivsk

Litvinovsky was born on August 11, 1894, in Novogeorgievsk, to a religious Jewish family. His father, Zeev, was a merchant, and as a child he studied in a cheder.

In 1912 he received a scholarship to the art academy in Odessa, where he met Boris Schatz. At Schatz's invitation he came to study at Bezalel, but soon returned to Russia to study at the art academy in Petrograd. In 1917 he married Liza Torgovsky.

In 1919 he immigrated with his wife on the ship Ruslan and settled in Jerusalem. In 1926 he designed the set for The Dybbuk at Habima, and in 1927 he designed the first emblem of Hapoel. He joined a group of modern artists and showed with them in 1929.

In the 1930s he spent long periods in Paris and was influenced by Matisse, Picasso and Cézanne. He held his first solo exhibition at Bezalel in 1935. He painted portraits of public figures, including many of David Ben-Gurion, and late in life a series of portraits of rabbis.

In the early 1950s he settled in the Katamon neighborhood of Jerusalem. He died in Jerusalem in September 1985 and was buried at Har HaMenuchot. He left 2 daughters.