Samuel George Cahan Art

In this copper plate etching, Cahan captures the religious ardor and penitent sentiment shared by the figures in the artwork. The piece is number seventy-six in a series of one-hundr...

Genre: Judaica Subject: Religious Medium: Oil Surface: Canvas Country: United States Dimensions: 24" x 18" x 3/4" Dimensions w/Frame: 29" x 23" Cahan uses vibrant oil paint to draw a portrait of four elderly Jewish men wearing prayer shawls also known as tallits. The man in the foreground is staring pensively into the distance while the other figures in the background read or pray. Each character shares the same scholarly air in their serious expressions and mannerisms. Cahan’s gestural use of color and brush strokes soften the painting’s protagonists, thereby shedding a more sensitive light on the painting. The well-known twentieth century American illustrator, etcher, and painter Samuel George Cahan was born in Kovno, Russia, now part of Lithuania. His parents were both born in Russia during the early 1870’s. Two years after his birth, his family emigrated to America and eventually settled in New York City's Lower East Side. Cahan said that his interest for drawing started when he was only an infant. In a 1967 interview, the artist describes his primary school years as vastly disinteresting. While other students heeded their teachers or studied math, Cahan drew. At 12-years-old, Cahan exhibited his early talent for drawing on Fulton Street’s sidewalk. Barefoot and armed with chalk, he crouched outside a restaurant and drew the sinking of Maine. At the time, it was recognizable ship that was smashed by the British. One of the men who passed by his vibrant rendering of the wreckage was the Chief Editor of the New York World newspaper, Nelson Hersh. Upon seeing the young boy’s skill, Hersh offered him a job in the newspaper’s art...