This has been called the single most significant work of Mane-Katz. A three quarter length portrait of one of the world's most important Jewish scholars and his friend, Cecil Roth. Signed on the front with a personal inscription on the back this portrait is rivaled by no other.

Title: "Cecil Roth"

Medium: Oil on Canvas

Signed: Upper Left with inscription on reverse

Date Created: 1956

Dimensions without Frame: 35.8 x 29.1" or 91x 74 cm.

Condition: Excellent

Provenance: Estate of Daniel Friedenberg A summary of the Cecil Roth Portrait by Mane Katz. When a work of art is appraised first and foremost is authenticity. We have no doubt as to the authenticity of this work based upon the impeccable provenance of the piece. In addition the style, brushwork and signature are all correct for Mane-Katz. While an appraisal is subjective and contains many different elements the key point are genre, composition, medium, style and yes, size matters. A work that is within the artist genre is worth more than a work that is outside of the genre of the artist. (Example: Mark Rothko, Abstract within the genre of Rothko Untitled No. 17 (33.6 million dollars) versus portrait of Leah Farber ($134,500) which is not within Rothko’s genre. The main genre and bestselling segment of Mane-Katz works are his portraits of Jewish persons. The portrait of Cecil Roth is not only within the genre of Mane-Katz is leads the genre. Most of the subjects of Mane Katz are not identified. In this portrait we have the identification of the subject who with over 600 publications is famous in his own right. There is not one portrait, group nor individual, that contains elements as strong as the ones presented in the Cecil Roth piece which identifies the subject with the Jewish religion and his writing accomplishments. While a portrait of Cecil Roth would stand alone on its own merits, Mane-Katz went one step further and embellished this portrait with an extraordinary amount of symbolism, leaving the viewer with no doubt as to the subjects religion and occupation. The Menorah (symbolism: religion) in the background is framed by a light bulb (symbolism: enlightenment & ideas) and the hand (symbol: writing/writer) gently cradled in green (symbolism: “to grow”, “growing” ) creates a perfect balance between the various elements in this work . Both in style and composition this piece leads Mane-Katz’s works. Lastly we have medium, which is oil on canvas and the canvas size being 29 x 36.5” which is what one wants in a ¾ length portrait. The condition of this piece is excellent. Painted at the peak of Mane-Katz’s career and placed there not only by the style and color but by the dated inscription on the reverse this piece has all of the elements that a serious collector desires. It is the best of Mane-Katz. p>Biography of the Artist:

Raised in an orthodox Jewish family in Russia, Mane-Katz was born in the Ukraine and became an early 20th-century artist, known especially for portraits and paintings with Jewish themes. From childhood, he had been influenced by stories of Jewish mysticism, which was reflected in his paintings.

He had a peripatetic life between Russia, France, Israel, and America. He first studied art in Kiev at the Beaux Arts Academy, and in 1913, went to Paris where he associated with Chaim Soutine and Marc Chagall and continued his art studies there at the Beaux Arts Academy.

During World War I, he tried to join the Foreign Legion but was rejected because he was too short. He went back in Russia again, this time joining the Soviet Revolution but rejected the cause because he was so horrified by Josef Stalin. He worked briefly for the Russian ballets, and in 1921, he returned to Paris where in 1927 he took French citizenship. For the next twelve years, he traveled widely, showing his art work and doing many paintings.

In 1939, as World War II was breaking out, he was drafted by the French and then was taken prisoner by the Germans. He escaped and went to the United States and remained there until 1945, exhibiting his paintings at Katia Granoff Gallery and Wildenstein Gallery. After the war, he returned to Paris where he had exhibited in the Salons. In Paris to the end of his career, he worked happily, painting hundreds of portraits of rabbis and works of Jewish symbolism. In this way, it is thought he was to satisfy his father, who had wanted him to be a rabbi. During these last years, he also resumed intense travel, going to Brazil, Japan, Israel and Argentina as well as throughout Europe.

About the subject:

Cecil Roth

Cecil Roth (1899, London - 1970, Jerusalem), a renowned Jewish historian and recognized expert in Jewish art, was educated at Oxford University. Initially trained as a general historian with an interest in Italy, Roth soon began to concentrate on Jewish subjects, first as a freelance journalist and lecturer and later as a reader at Oxford University (1939 through 1964).

Upon retiring from Oxford, Roth settled in Jerusalem and was a visiting professor at Columbia University, Queens College of the City University of New York, Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University and Bar Ilan University.

A prolific writer, Roth published more than 600 books and articles, which have been translated into many languages. His popular works include The House of Nasi (two volumes, of which Dona Gracia is the first), A Short History of the Jewish People, The Jewish Contribution to Civilization and The Standard Jewish Encyclopedia. From 1966 until his death in 1970, he served as editor-in-chief of the Encyclopaedia Judaica. INTERNET BIDDING WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED FOR THIS LOT. CALL 203-470-4405 TO REGISTER FOR PHONE BIDDING.