Isac Friedlander papers
Collection
Identifier: GTM-GAMMS183
Personal papers documenting the career of the Latvian-born printmaker and illustrator, Isac Friedlander. The surviving papers include copies of exhibit catalogs in which his works were included (and frequently illustrated); news cuttings concerning his work and prizes he won; and correspondence with fellow artists, groups, and institutions. Of particular note among his correspondents are John Taylor Arms and Arthur Heintzelman. A prolific etcher and wood engraver, Friedlander came to the United States in 1929. See also the Friedlander collection, the largest available collection of his artwork in this country, includes some 150 prints, drawings, and other works of art. Friedlander's work emphasizes the imagery of his native Riga, the urban spectacle of New York during the Depression, and the sufferings of his fellow Jews in the Holocaust. ca. 1928-1982 / 2.5 linear feet.
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Isac Friedlander was born in Mitau, Latvia on April 22, 1890. Between 1906 and 1912, he was arrested and imprisoned by Russian authorities for anti-czarist political activities. From 1913 to 1917 he studied art at the Academy of Rome, Italy, where he befriended Russian writer Maxim Gorky. In 1915 he began a printing career, and in 1917 he repatriated to Russia during the Kerensky regime.
In 1929, Friedlander emigrated to the US with the encouragement of his cousin, Joseph Hirshhorn. In the USA, he designed the dustjacket for Black Manhattan by James Weldon Johnson, and in 1934 he was awarded first prize for print 'Revival' at the 8th Annual Print Club of Philadelphia Exhibition. In 1943, Friedlander was awarded first prize for print 'Spiritual' at the 17th Annual Print Club of Philadelphia Exhibition, and in 1947 he was elected as outstanding etcher in the Britannica Book of the Year. In 1960 he was awarded the Lilienthal Purchase Prize by the California Society of Etchers for 'Ecclesiastes.' He died on August 23rd, 1960, in New York City.
3.13 Linear Feet (7 Hollinger Document Cases, 1 Slim Document Case)
English
Gift of Marga Friedlander
Part of the Georgetown University Manuscripts Repository