Portrait of Israel Zangwill
Glicenstein attended yeshiva before studying art in Munich (1890-95), and in 1897 moved to Rome with his wife, Helena Hirszenberg, becoming an Italian citizen. After the First World War broke out Glicenstein moved his family to Poland. Moving to London, and associated with Ben Uri in the early 1920s, as both sculptor and printmaker, Glicenstein showed at the Royal Academy three times between 1923-25, before moving to America with his son in 1928. His wife and daughter would follow in 1935. Glicenstein hoped to visit Palestine, but was killed in a car accident in 1942 before his wish was fulfilled; his son, painter Emanuel Romano, subsequently moved to Safed, one of the holiest cities in northern Israel, where the Glicenstein Museum was established. Glicenstein’s portrait of Zangwill captures the famous Jewish writer as though in mid-discourse, his animated right hand adding to an overall feeling of vigor and brio. Zangwill was associated with Ben Uri at this time, and the sculpture may well commemorate his Presidency of the Society, a position he held from 1922-23.
Bronze
42.0 x 27.0cm
Images and text © Ben Uri collection, 2017