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Jack Rosenhaft, (1925-2015) New York Realist

Rosenhaft (1925-2015) a contemporary realist that was most closely associated with Salmagundi Club in New York City.  An art club where he would meet with other artists, exchanged ideas and exhibit his paintings.  He explored a variety of themes ranging from portraits, landscapes, seascapes, interiors and figures. 

Rosenhaft was born in Brooklyn, NY, and attended the Art Students League, Tyler School of Fine Art, and the Brooklyn Museum School of Art. He was the pupil of the famous European master, Max Beckman, as well as the American maestro Jon Corbino. He was clearly influenced by Beckman in the case of this painting. Like Beckman, he used dark outlines that contour around his subjects, and created shadows that are inky, sooty.

"Tugboats" was a scene that Rosenhaft would have seen in his native Manhattan, Brooklyn neighborhoods. Tugboats maneuver barges and ships up and down the East River guiding the large vessels around the Queensboro and Brooklyn Bridges. Perhaps its a gray foggy day as the two tugboats are wrestling with the waves. Black paint outlines the tugboat's bow and masthead, while the white life-boat hangs like a ghost between the two tugs, and his brighter pigments never really dissolve into sheer color.
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"Tugboats"
Oil on Canvas
Gray-Silver Frame 




Rosenhaft was a veteran of WWII, an elected member of the Audubon Art Association, the Salmagundi Club, and the Hudson Valley Art Association. He was an award winning artist of national and regional exhibitions (for example the American Artists Professional League - Claude Parsons Award for Landscape). He was an active member of the Salmagundi Club from 1992 until his death, serving as the organization's Treasurer during the fiscal year of 2007.    Special thanks goes out to his art dealer for his photo.  


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  1. Waller Yoblonsky BlogspotOctober 25, 2017 at 12:26 PM

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  2. Waller Yoblonsky BlogspotOctober 28, 2017 at 8:14 AM

    Jack Rosenhaft - Two Degrees of Separation

    The Waller-Yoblonsky Fine Art blog focuses on obscure artists. My recent post on Jack Rosenhaft, New York Realist, brought an amazing response from my neighbor, Corinne
    Reinckens Gorski. Her parents who lived in Churchtown, NY were close friends with Rosenhafts, they knew them as Jack and Vera. Which brings us to the Two Degrees of Separation. Ms. Gorski told of Jack’s studio and how Mr. and Mrs. Rosenhaft commuted between Brooklyn Heights and their country home on the New York/Massachusetts border for the weekends.

    Ms. Gorski owns a small plaster sculpture by Rosenhaft. The plaster sculpture is titled “Gnome” and is number 6 of an edition of 9, and is approximately 11 inches. Gorski’s brother, David owns a painting where Rosenhaft depicted his three daughters by the sea.


    In the weeks ahead, I hope to add more information on the Rosenhafts.

    ReplyDelete

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