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Pinchas Abramovich, Israeli, 1909-1986, born in Russian Empire

Pinhas Abramovich was born in Mazeikiai, Lithuania. He was the youngest of eight children. His parents, Orthodox Jews, owned a leather and shoe factory. After the outbreak of World War I, the family was exiled to Russia, where Abramovich studied in a Jewish school. In 1916, his mother died suddenly. With the start of the October Revolution, the family moved to Kharkov, Ukraine, and Abramovich was sent to a Russian communist school. In 1922, the family returned to Lithuania and settled in the village of Siad. Abramovich attended a Jewish school and was active in the Hatzofim youth movement. He began to study art in Shavli with an artist named Ananiv. In 1926, he enrolled in the Kovno Academy of Art. In 1927, he joined Hashomer Hatzair and immigrated to Palestine in 1929 with the Hehalutz movement to work on a farm in Binyamina. He also lived on Kibbutz Beit Zera.

In 1932, Abramovich moved to Tel Aviv to paint at the studio of Joseph Zaritsky. In 1934, he was accepted to the Painters and Sculptors Association. In 1938-1941, he joined the Haganah and served in a unit commanded by Orde Wingate. In 1942-1943, he served with the British Army in Iraq and Iran. In 1948, he was one of the founders of the New Horizons group and showed his work at almost all its exhibitions. He also served twice as secretary of the movement, in 1948-1953 and 1957-1963. In 1956 and 1966, he visited South Africa and lived there for a while. In 1981 and 1984, he was chairman of the Painters and Sculptors Association. In 1985, he was honorary president of the association.

Abramovich's early work was influenced by European Expressionism. His works, such as Camouflage Enterprise (1948), show some influence of Braquian cubism. In the 1950s, he began to paint in a more abstract style, typical of the New Horizons group.

Education

1926 Kovno Academy of Art
1932 Studied painting with Joseph Zaritsky, Tel Aviv
1935-36 Académie de la Grande Chaumière, Paris

Teaching

1929 Kibbutz Beit Zera
1947-52 Painting, schools in Tel Aviv-Yafo
1952-72 Seminar Hakibbutzim, Tel Aviv-Yafo

Awards And Prizes

1966 Monaco Prize
1967 Dizengoff Prize for Painting and Sculpture
1985 Honorary Degree, Art Association, Frankfurt, Germany