Sold at Auction: Leonard Baskin

(b 1922; d 2000) American sculptor, painter, and printmaker, Leonard Baskin was raised the son of a Rabbi in Brooklyn, New York. His interest in art was evident from an early age and he had his first solo exhibit of sculpture at the Glickman Studio Gallery when he was just seventeen. After receiving his B.A. from Yale, Baskin studied abroad in Paris and Florence. Shortly after returning from Europe, he took his first teaching position at Smith College in Massachusetts where he was an instructor of sculpture and printmaking. Despite the trends in Modern art, Baskin’s work remained figural throughout his career and he dealt primarily with mythological and religious themes. He was considered one of the finest American sculptors and printmakers of his time and his work appears in the collections of major museums around the world. In addition to his career as an artist, Baskin founded his own publishing company called Gehenna Press in 1942 and illustrated and authored many books himself.