"Born in 1922 in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Leonard Baskin was reared in Brooklyn, New York. The son of a Rabbi, Baskin was educated at a yeshiva (Jewish religious college), which had a profound effect on his aesthetic. Committed to art at an early age, Baskin had his first exhibition. [sic] of sculpture, at the Glickman Studio Gallery, New York, at the age of seventeen. He studied at Yale University from 1941 to 1943 and received his B.A. at the New School for Social Research in 1949. Baskin spent 1950 and 1951 abroad, studying in Paris and Florence." (1)
" He had many influences at that time including Ossip Zadkine, Henri Laurens, and Alexander Archipenko." (2)
"From 1953 until 1974, he taught printmaking and sculpture at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. Subsequently Baskin also taught at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. He lived most of his life in the U.S., but spent nine years in Devon at Lurley Manor, Lurley, near Tiverton, UK, close to his friend Ted Hughes, for whom he illustrated Crow. Sylvia Plath dedicated "Sculptor" to Leonard Baskin. It was the penultimate poem in The Colossus (1960)." (3)
"[W]hen he returned to America..[sic] These nine years were enormously productive and besides sculptures he created a fine selection of prints and paintings. Baskin became intrigued by Greek history, philosophy and mythology at an early age and this study inspired many of his sculptures and paintings. Other influences were early 20th century sculptors, notably Ernst Barlach". (1)
"A highly respected draftsman, printmaker, teacher, and sculptor, Leonard Baskin had the ability to depict in an abstract style man and his relation to the world. Whether working with bronze or wood or two-dimensional mediums, his focus remained on large heroic, but flawed human beings who at times recall photographic images of concentration-camp victims or birds with human bodies that suggest mythological forms." (2)
"Leonard Baskin was one of the prolific artists of the 20th century. He was a sculptor of renown. He was a writer and illustrator of books ranging from the bible to children’s’ stories and natural history. He was a talented water-colourist and a superb, prolific print-maker. His prints ranged from woodcuts through lithography and etching; his subjects covered portraits, flower studies, biblical, classical and mythological scenes." (1)
"His most prominent public commissions include sculpture for the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and the Woodrow Wilson Memorial, both in Washington D.C., and the Holocaust Memorial in Ann Arbor, MI.
“Baskin received numerous honors, among them a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Gold Medal of the National Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Jewish Cultural Achievement Award. He had many retrospective exhibitions, including those at the Smithsonian, the Albertina, and the Library of Congress. His work is in major private and public institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the British Museum, and the Vatican Museums." (4)
"Baskin was a noted philatelist and built an important and eclectic collection of postage stamps." (1)
"On June 3, 2000, the day that Leonard Baskin died, the art world lost a true renaissance man". (4)
Reference:
1.Masterworks Fine Art Gallery Staff. Leonard Baskin Biography [internet]. San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA [cited 2019 Jun 10]. Available from: https://www.masterworksfineart.com/artists/leonard-baskin/biography
2.Askart staff. Biography Leonard Baskin [internet]. [cited 2019 Jun 10]. Available from: http://www.askart.com/artist_bio/Leonard_Baskin/25181/Leonard_Baskin.aspx
3.Davidson Galleries Staff. Leonard Baskin (American, 1922-2000) [internet]. Seattle, Washington [cited 2019 Jun 10]. Available from: https://www.davidsongalleries.com/artists/modern/leonard-baskin/
4.Richard Michelson. Leonard Baskin [internet]. Northampton, MA [cited 2019 Jun 10]. Available from: https://www.rmichelson.com/artists/leonard-baskin/