Leonard Baskin

American 1922-2000

“Art is content, or it is nothing. Photorealism is the same thing as minimal abstraction. Both are unwilling to say anything about the nature of reality, about their own involvement with reality…”

-Leonard Baskin

Probably most renowned for his sculpture, the 1940s saw Leonard Baskin turn to printmaking as a way to best express his evolving political views. Equally skilled with lithography, engraving and monotype techniques, Baskin found woodcut to be an ideal medium in which to explore human nature with its complex mix of physical exterior and inner turmoil. This is evident in his characteristic portrayals of various segments of society through grotesque renderings of the morally depraved or thoughtful and sensitive images of those he esteemed.

Leonard Baskin’s impressive career was highlighted with a long list of awards including the Guggenheim Fellowship, the Gold Medal of the National Academy of Arts and Letters, the Jewish Cultural Achievement Award and the Gold medal of the National Academy of Design. His sculptures, Watercolours and prints can be found in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian Institute, the Tate Gallery in London, the Vatican Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago, to name a few.