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Artist Profile: Leonard Baskin
December 12, 2024
Leonard Baskin (1922–2000) was a sculptor, wood engraver, book
illustrator, graphic artist, writer, and teacher. Born in New
Brunswick, NJ, Baskin’s father was an orthodox rabbi. By the age of
15, he began to study art formally, later attending a Jewish religious
college. Much of his art was influenced by biblical stories,
mythology, literature, and history. During World War II, Baskin served
in the Navy and later returned to Europe to continue creating art.
Baskin created many works on the Holocaust, including the bronze
statue Holocaust Memorial in Ann Arbor, MI. Baskin said it took him
fifty years to be able to create work on the subject of the Holocaust.
“The woodcuts make but a faint stab at the appalling actuality of the
Holocaust, but they have granted me a gesture to somehow deal with the
crashing reality of the Holocaust.”
Explore more work by Leonard Baskin in the collection.
Leonard Baskin, Gericault, etching, 2021.251.1.
Leonard Baskin, Torment, woodcut print, 1959, L11.2022.964.
Leonard Baskin, Man of Pease, woodcut print on Japanese paper, 1952,
2017.48.1.