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Abramowitz, Benjamin (Hoffman, Ben) [1917-2011. USA. Lithographer/Painter/Sculptor]
Abramowitz, Benjamin (Hoffman, Ben) [1917-2011. USA. Lithographer/Painter/Sculptor]
Benjamin Abramowitz [also known as Ben Hoffman and as Benjamin Hoffman Abramowitz] was born the son of Russian émigrés in New York City in 1917. In his early youth he studied life drawing at Brooklyn Museum in Brooklyn, New York. He later attended the National Academy of Design in New York City (1936).
In 1936 he began working for the Work Projects Administration (WPA) and subsequently joined the Graphic Division of the New York City WPA Art Project. A lithograph by him, entitled ‘Water Front’, which she produced for the New York City WPA Art Project is illustrated in ‘PM’ vol.6, no.5, June/July 1940 (p.21). While working for the WPA he used the pseudonym Ben Hoffman
In 1941 Abramowitz moved to Washington, DC, where he worked on U.S. graphic design assignments. From the mid-1940s onwards, in addition to pursuing his career as a lithographer, painter and sculptor, he worked as a teacher and “art coach” in the Washington metropolitan area. Abramowitz died in Washington, D.C. on 21 November 2011
Solo exhibitions of Abramowitz’s work have been held at Brooklyn Museum in Brooklyn, New York (1933); Howard University Art Gallery in Washington, DC (1946); Barnett Aden Gallery in Washington, DC (1948); Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC (1950); Whyte Gallery in Washington, DC (1951); Dupont Theatre Gallery of Art in Washington, DC (1954); Washington Hebrew Congregation in Washington, DC (1955); Baltimore Museum of Art in Baltimore, Maryland (1959); R Street Gallery in Washington, DC (1964); The Brownsville Art League in Brownsville, Texas (1965); The Jefferson Place Gallery in Washington, DC (1971); World Bank in Washington, DC (1971); Middendorf/Lane Downtown Gallery in Washington DC (1982); and Hemphill Fine Arts in Washington, DC (2006). A joint exhibition of work by Abramowitz, Jane Frank and Lowell Nesbitt was held at The Baltimore Museum of Art in Baltimore, Maryland (1958).
Abramowitz has also participated in numerous group exhibitions including ‘American Artists Congress Fifth Annual Competitive Exhibition’ at ACA Gallery in New York City (1940); ‘Exhibition of Paintings by Artists of Washington, Baltimore and Vicinity’ at The Phillips Memorial Gallery in Washington, DC (1945); ‘14th Annual Exhibition of Maryland Artists’ at The Baltimore Museum of Art in Baltimore, Maryland (1946); ‘Third Exhibition of Paintings by Artists of Washington, Baltimore and Vicinity’ at The Phillips Memorial Gallery in Washington, DC (1948); ‘Fourth Exhibition of Paintings by Artists of Washington, Baltimore and Vicinity’ at The Phillips Memorial Gallery in Washington, DC (1949); ‘Eighteenth Annual Maryland Artists Exhibition’ at Baltimore Museum of Art in Baltimore, Maryland (1950); ‘19th Annual Maryland Artists Exhibition’ at Baltimore Museum of Art in Baltimore, Maryland (1951); ‘The Fifth Annual Area Exhibition’ at The Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC (1951); ‘The Sixth Annual Area Exhibition’ at The Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC (1951); ‘The Seventh Annual Area Exhibition’ at The Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC (1952); ‘Painters of Expressionistic Abstraction’ at The Phillips Gallery in Washington, DC (1952); The Eighth Annual Area Exhibition’ at The Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC (1953); ‘The Drawing Society Eastern Central Regional Drawing Exhibition’ at The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1965); ‘Washington: Twenty Years’ at Baltimore Museum of Art in Baltimore, Maryland (1970); ‘Eminent Washington Artists: 3rd Annual Invitational Exhibit’ at The Art Barn in Washington, DC (1980); and ‘30 Years Later: A Group Show of Current Works by Selected Washington Artists of the 50s and 60s’ at Gallery K in Washington, DC (1989).
In 1965 he was Ford Foundation Grant Artist in Residence in Brownsville, Texas.
Examples of Abramowitz’s work are in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City; Newark Museum in Newark, New Jersey; St. Louis Art Museum in St. Louis, Missouri; Howard University in Washington, DC; Newark Museum in Newark, New Jersey; the Cocoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC; and the Amity Art Foundation in Woodbridge, Connecticut.
In 2008 Abramowitz was interviewed by John Bridges in conjunction with the exhibition ‘WPA Graphic Works from the Amity Art Foundation Collection’ at Juniata College Museum in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania.
Abramowitz’s papers 1933-78 are held at the Smithsonian Institution Archives of American art in Washington, DC.
In 1936 he began working for the Work Projects Administration (WPA) and subsequently joined the Graphic Division of the New York City WPA Art Project. A lithograph by him, entitled ‘Water Front’, which she produced for the New York City WPA Art Project is illustrated in ‘PM’ vol.6, no.5, June/July 1940 (p.21). While working for the WPA he used the pseudonym Ben Hoffman
In 1941 Abramowitz moved to Washington, DC, where he worked on U.S. graphic design assignments. From the mid-1940s onwards, in addition to pursuing his career as a lithographer, painter and sculptor, he worked as a teacher and “art coach” in the Washington metropolitan area. Abramowitz died in Washington, D.C. on 21 November 2011
Solo exhibitions of Abramowitz’s work have been held at Brooklyn Museum in Brooklyn, New York (1933); Howard University Art Gallery in Washington, DC (1946); Barnett Aden Gallery in Washington, DC (1948); Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC (1950); Whyte Gallery in Washington, DC (1951); Dupont Theatre Gallery of Art in Washington, DC (1954); Washington Hebrew Congregation in Washington, DC (1955); Baltimore Museum of Art in Baltimore, Maryland (1959); R Street Gallery in Washington, DC (1964); The Brownsville Art League in Brownsville, Texas (1965); The Jefferson Place Gallery in Washington, DC (1971); World Bank in Washington, DC (1971); Middendorf/Lane Downtown Gallery in Washington DC (1982); and Hemphill Fine Arts in Washington, DC (2006). A joint exhibition of work by Abramowitz, Jane Frank and Lowell Nesbitt was held at The Baltimore Museum of Art in Baltimore, Maryland (1958).
Abramowitz has also participated in numerous group exhibitions including ‘American Artists Congress Fifth Annual Competitive Exhibition’ at ACA Gallery in New York City (1940); ‘Exhibition of Paintings by Artists of Washington, Baltimore and Vicinity’ at The Phillips Memorial Gallery in Washington, DC (1945); ‘14th Annual Exhibition of Maryland Artists’ at The Baltimore Museum of Art in Baltimore, Maryland (1946); ‘Third Exhibition of Paintings by Artists of Washington, Baltimore and Vicinity’ at The Phillips Memorial Gallery in Washington, DC (1948); ‘Fourth Exhibition of Paintings by Artists of Washington, Baltimore and Vicinity’ at The Phillips Memorial Gallery in Washington, DC (1949); ‘Eighteenth Annual Maryland Artists Exhibition’ at Baltimore Museum of Art in Baltimore, Maryland (1950); ‘19th Annual Maryland Artists Exhibition’ at Baltimore Museum of Art in Baltimore, Maryland (1951); ‘The Fifth Annual Area Exhibition’ at The Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC (1951); ‘The Sixth Annual Area Exhibition’ at The Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC (1951); ‘The Seventh Annual Area Exhibition’ at The Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC (1952); ‘Painters of Expressionistic Abstraction’ at The Phillips Gallery in Washington, DC (1952); The Eighth Annual Area Exhibition’ at The Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC (1953); ‘The Drawing Society Eastern Central Regional Drawing Exhibition’ at The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1965); ‘Washington: Twenty Years’ at Baltimore Museum of Art in Baltimore, Maryland (1970); ‘Eminent Washington Artists: 3rd Annual Invitational Exhibit’ at The Art Barn in Washington, DC (1980); and ‘30 Years Later: A Group Show of Current Works by Selected Washington Artists of the 50s and 60s’ at Gallery K in Washington, DC (1989).
In 1965 he was Ford Foundation Grant Artist in Residence in Brownsville, Texas.
Examples of Abramowitz’s work are in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City; Newark Museum in Newark, New Jersey; St. Louis Art Museum in St. Louis, Missouri; Howard University in Washington, DC; Newark Museum in Newark, New Jersey; the Cocoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC; and the Amity Art Foundation in Woodbridge, Connecticut.
In 2008 Abramowitz was interviewed by John Bridges in conjunction with the exhibition ‘WPA Graphic Works from the Amity Art Foundation Collection’ at Juniata College Museum in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania.
Abramowitz’s papers 1933-78 are held at the Smithsonian Institution Archives of American art in Washington, DC.
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Greenbelt Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Official Web site of Benjamin Abramowitz
Smithsonian Archives of American Art. Benjamin Abramowitz papers, 1933-1978
Whittemore House Museum
Wikipedia
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Greenbelt Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Official Web site of Benjamin Abramowitz
Smithsonian Archives of American Art. Benjamin Abramowitz papers, 1933-1978
Whittemore House Museum
Wikipedia