Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
General material designation
- Multiple media
Parallel title
Other title information
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
Level of description
Reference code
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
-
1988 - 2009 (Custody)
- Custodian
- Gershon Iskowitz Foundation
-
[191-?]-1988 (Creation)
- Creator
- Iskowitz, Gershon
Physical description area
Physical description
239 photographs
13 palettes
8 cm of textual records
2 drawings
1 photograph album
1 videocassette
1 film reel
1 audio reel
1 matchbook
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Gershon Iskowitz (1921-1988) was an abstract painter based in Toronto for much of his artistic career. Born in Kielce, Poland, he survived internment in Nazi concentration camps and lost his entire family in the Holocaust. Iskowitz studied art in Munich at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in 1947, soon transferring to private studies with Oskar Kokoschka. He moved to Toronto in 1949. His work developed from wartime imagery to a focus on landscapes (particularly inspired by practice in the Parry Sound area), eventually arriving at his mature abstract expressionist style in 1967. Iskowitz began exhibiting with Gallery Moos in 1964, a relationship which continued throughout his career. He taught at the New School (Toronto) from 1967-1970, and his informal mentoring of artists in Toronto is often noted. Iskowitz, along with Walter Redinger, represented Canada at the Venice Biennale in 1972. The artist established the Gershon Iskowitz Foundation in 1985, with the mandate of awarding the Gershon Iskowitz Prize to a mature practising artist; since 2007 the Foundation has partnered with the Art Gallery of Ontario to administer the Gershon Iskowitz Prize at the AGO.
Custodial history
Following Iskowitz’s death, material now constituting this fonds was gathered by friends and maintained by the Gershon Iskowitz Foundation. It was transferred directly to the Art Gallery of Ontario in 2008.
Scope and content
Fonds consists of personal and professional records of Gershon Iskowitz, including photographic documentation of his family and early life, self and studio, and works of art; publicity material including newspaper clippings about his career; personal artefacts such as identity documents; a small amount of personal correspondence; and a condolence book signed at his memorial service.
Contains series:
- Photographs
- Publicity material
- Identity documents
- Personal correspondence and notes
- Writings about the artist
- Sketch and notes for Northern Lights Septet #3
- Audiovisual records
- Artist’s palettes
- Condolence book
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
AGO Credit Line: Gift of the Gershon Iskowitz Foundation, 2009.
Arrangement
Original order of material was not apparent by the time the material was acquired by the AGO. Material was arranged by the archivist.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
Open. Access to Special Collections is by appointment only. Please contact the reference desk for more information.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Various copyright holders. It is the researcher’s responsibility to obtain permission to publish any part of the fonds.
Finding aids
A detailed finding aid is available at http://www.ago.net/assets/files/pdf/special_collections/SC114.pdf.
Associated materials
There are 8 sketchbooks by Gershon Iskowitz in the Art Gallery of Ontario’s permanent collection, donated by the Iskowitz Foundation in 1995.
Accruals
No further accruals are expected.
Alternative identifier(s)
Standard number
Standard number
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
- North America » Canada » Ontario » Toronto
- Europe
Name access points
Genre access points
Control area
Description record identifier
Institution identifier
Rules or conventions
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
August 9, 2013
Language of description
- English