Nachum Gutman

• Name — Nachum Gutman • Born — 5 October 1898 • Birthplace — Teleneşti, Bessarabia Governorate, Russian Empire • Died — 28 November 1980 • Field — Painting • Training — Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design • Awards — Dizengoff Prize, Lamdan Prize, Israel Prize • Illustration — Nachum Gutman mosaic wall at Shalom Tower, where the old Herzliya Gymnasium once stood; detail showing orchards and a saqiya fountain outside old Jaffa

Nachum Gutman was born in Teleneşti, Bessarabia Governorate, then a part of the Russian Empire (now in the Republic of Moldova). He was the fourth child of Sim[c]ha Alter and Rivka Gutman. His father was a Hebrew writer and educator who wrote under the pen name S. Ben Zion. In 1903, the family moved to Odessa, and two years later, to Ottoman Palestine. In 1908, Gutman attended the Herzliya Gymnasium in what would later become Tel Aviv. In 1912, he studied at the Bezalel School in Jerusalem He enlisted as a volunteer in the Jewish Legion in 1918. In 1920–26, he studied art in Vienna, Berlin and Paris. Gutman was married to Dora, with whom he had a son. After Gutman's death in 1980, Dora asked two Tel Aviv gallery owners, Meir Stern of Stern Gallery and Miriam Tawin of Shulamit Gallery, to appraise the value all of the works left in his estate. • Illustration — Nahum Gutman, (the man to the right) at Yitzhak Frenkel's (standing in the center) home in Safed

• Illustration — Gutman's studio, Nahum Gutman Museum of Art Gutman helped pioneer a distinctively Israeli style, moving away from the European influences of his teachers. He worked in many different media: oils, watercolours, gouache and pen and ink. His sculptures and brightly colored mosaics can be seen in public places around Tel Aviv. Indoor murals depicting the history of Tel Aviv can be seen in the western wing of the Shalom Tower and the Chief Rabbinate building. A mosaic fountain with scenes from the early days of Tel Aviv and biblical stories connected to Jaffa (inscribed with 3 Bible verses: Jeremiah 31:4, 2 Chronicles 2:16, Jonah 1:3), stood for 32 years at the end of Bialik Street, opposite the old Tel Aviv municipality building. In 2012 this mosaic fountain was reinstalled at the southern end of Rothschild Boulevard. Gutman's artistic style was eclectic, ranging from figurative to abstract. Gutman was also a well-known writer and illustrator of children's books.

• 1961 A mosaic wall at the Chief Rabbinate building, Tel Aviv • 1966 A mosaic wall in memory of the Herzliya high school at Migdal Shalom (Shalom Tower), Tel Aviv • 1976 History of Jaffa and Tel Aviv, mosaic-decorated fountain, initially Bialik Square, now southern end of Rothschild Boulevard Tel Aviv

The authorities additionally record the headings Nahum Gutman, Nachum Ben-Zion and N. His recorded language was Hebrew. He was the child of Simcha Ben Zion. One child is recorded: Menachem Gutman.

• Path of the Orange Peels: Adventures in the Early Days of Tel Aviv (English translation: Nelly Segal) Dodd, Mead & Company, 1979 • "Seven Mills and Another Station" (Sheva T'khanot ve'od Takhana), Yavneh 1956 • "In the Land of Lobengulu King of Zulu", Massadah 1940