Mother and Son; 1950; Oil on Canvas, 101×66

Chaim Gliksberg

Chaim Gliksberg was born in 1904 in Pinsk, Belarus, to a family of rabbis. His father was rabbi Shimon Yaakov Halevi Gliksberg and his grandfather was rabbi Mordechai David Alpert. He received an Orthodox education and between 1920-1924 he studied at the Odessa Yeshiva. At the end of his studies, he visited Moscow where he was exposed to the art of painting for the very first time.

In 1925 he immigrated to Palestine and settled in Jerusalem. During the first years he worked in construction and paved roads, alongside his on-growing interest in painting. The first exhibition of his works was held at the Lemel School in Jerusalem, where he exhibited numerous landscapes and portraits. During that period he had frequent encounters with his friend – poet Chaim Nachman Bialik. In 1945 the book “Bialik Yom-Yom” (Hakibbutz Hameuchad edition) was published – a result of their continuous collaboration.

His artistic language was influenced by French Impressionism, and apart from landscapes and portraits he also painted various still-lives. Gliksberg participated in many public artistic affairs: he was one of the founders of the Artists Association and in 1931 he even advised Dizengoff on the matter of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art’s establishment. In 1939 he was the winner of Dizengoff Award on account of his portrait of Bialik. In 1956 he received the award again for his painting “Still”. In 1958 he participated in the Venice Biannelle, and in 1961 he was one of judges of the Dizengoff Award. From 1930 he was married to his wife Deborah (Duba). The couple had three daughters: Ruth Epstein, Dalia Diner and Bella Pinchuk. Chaim Gliksberg passed away in 1970.