Israel Litwak (American, born in Ukraine, 1867-1952). "Washington's Headquarters" oil on canvas, 1945. Signed and dated on lower right. Titled on lower left. A wonderful painting of a historic site by Israel Litwak. George Washington's headquarters is located at 38 Greene Street in the historic district of Cumberland, Maryland. While Litwak clearly worked from his observations of the site, his painting also demonstrates the power of his imagination. "One achieves good painting by imagination, talent, patience and a lot of hard work," he wrote. "I look . . . just to get an idea; then I go home and make it the I want it, not the way it is." Size: 22" L x 30" W (55.9 cm x 76.2 cm)

Born in Odessa where he would apprentice to a cabinetmaker at age eleven, Israel Litwak emigrated to the United States in 1903. He lived with his family in Brooklyn, New York and worked as a cabinetmaker. It was only after retiring at 68 years old that Litwak began to paint urban scenes as well as places he visited on vacations such as the subject shown here. Despite the fact that he had never painted before and was an autodidact, Litwak had always visited museums and admired the Old Masters. In 1939 his life took a momentous turn when he took some of his paintings to the Brooklyn Museum. Curator Carl Schniewind was so impressed that he gave Litwak a solo exhibition. His work was very well received in the 1940s, and in 1946, Time Magazine ran a fabulous article on Litwak. By the early 1950s, Litwak's work was featured by Otto Kallir in group exhibitions at the Galerie St. Etienne in addition to traveling international exhibitions.

Provenance: private Boulder, Colorado, USA collection

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.

Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.

#171222

Signed and dated by the artist on lower right. Titled by the artist on lower left. "Neuman", "COLLECTION SBN" and other notes handwritten on stretcher on verso. Painting is in overall excellent condition save very slight, expected age wear. Wired for suspension and ready to display.