Hyman Bloom
Encyclopedia
Hyman Bloom was a painter. His work is influenced by his Jewish
heritage, Eastern religions as well as artists including Altdorfer, Grunewald, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, William Blake, Rudolph Bresdin, J.M.W. Turner, John Martin, Chaim Soutine and Denman Ross among many others that he uses to explore themes of the harrowing and the beautiful and glimpses of the supernatural. Many of his works feature macabre subjects such as skeletons or corpses based upon his experience in a morgue and influences including Rembrandt's Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp 1632, Chaim Soutine's Carcass of Beef, 1925, and have modern day comparisons to Damien Hirst's experiences in a morgue and dissected animal sculptures. Bloom's still life paintings continue to explore the theme of the harrowing and the beautiful creating modern day vanitas paintings featuring Amphora Pottery that was influenced by the Aesthetic Movement and Symbolists. His drawings and paintings of Lubec, Maine woods continue to explore the relationship between the natural and spiritual realms.
Bloom was born into an orthodox Jewish
family in the tiny Jewish village of Brunavišķi, in the Bauska District
of the Zemgale region
of southern Latvia, near the town of Bauska
and about 45 miles south of Riga
near the Lithuania
n border. He emigrated to the United States
with his family in 1920, at the age of seven. He lived for most of his life in Boston
, Massachusetts
and at a young age planned to become a rabbi, but his family could not find a suitable teacher.
At the age of fifteen, Bloom and Jack Levine
, another Jewish painter from Boston, received scholarships in the fine arts by the famous Harvard art professor Denman Ross
(1853–1935). They also studied with Harold Zimmerman, who died in 1941 while still in his thirties. Bloom, along with Levine and another painter, Karl Zerbe
, eventually became associated with a style named Boston Expressionism.http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/2aa/2aa229.htm
In 1940, after viewing Bloom's abstracted paintings of archeological sites, Clement Greenberg
, Jackson Pollock
, and Willem de Kooning
dubbed Bloom "the greatest artist in America."http://www.artcritical.com/blurbs/JSBloom.htm In 1949, Bloom received a Guggenheim fellowship
, and in 1950 he was one of only seven artists (including Arshile Gorky
, John Marin
, Jackson Pollock
, and Willem de Kooning
) to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale
.http://www.richardmcbee.com/hymanbloomsjourney.html In 1954 Pollock and de Kooning called Bloom "the first Abstract Expressionist
artist in America." The same year, Bloom had a major retrospective of his work at the Whitney Museum of American Art
.http://www.richardmcbee.com/hymanbloomsjourney.html
He was a close friend of the composer Alan Hovhaness
and the Greek mystic painter Hermon di Giovanno. The three of them often met together to discuss various mystical subjects and to listen to Indian classical music
. Bloom encouraged di Giovanno in his art, providing him with a set of pastels with which he executed his earliest paintings.
Hyman Bloom: A Spiritual Embrace, a traveling exhibit of his work, will debut in September 2009 at the Yeshiva University Museum
. Hyman Bloom: The Beauty of All Things, a film about the artist's life and work, will be released in October 2009. A book and exhibition Hyman Bloom's Still Life Paintings:Amphora Pottery in the Eye of a Modern Master is currently being prepared for 2010 by Paul Royka.
Bloom's last residence was in Nashua, New Hampshire
. He died there on August 26, 2009, at the age of 96. He is survived by his wife Stella.
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
heritage, Eastern religions as well as artists including Altdorfer, Grunewald, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, William Blake, Rudolph Bresdin, J.M.W. Turner, John Martin, Chaim Soutine and Denman Ross among many others that he uses to explore themes of the harrowing and the beautiful and glimpses of the supernatural. Many of his works feature macabre subjects such as skeletons or corpses based upon his experience in a morgue and influences including Rembrandt's Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp 1632, Chaim Soutine's Carcass of Beef, 1925, and have modern day comparisons to Damien Hirst's experiences in a morgue and dissected animal sculptures. Bloom's still life paintings continue to explore the theme of the harrowing and the beautiful creating modern day vanitas paintings featuring Amphora Pottery that was influenced by the Aesthetic Movement and Symbolists. His drawings and paintings of Lubec, Maine woods continue to explore the relationship between the natural and spiritual realms.
Bloom was born into an orthodox Jewish
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
family in the tiny Jewish village of Brunavišķi, in the Bauska District
Bauska District
Bauska District was an administrative division of Latvia, located in Semigallia region, in the country's centre. It was organized into a city, a municipality and fifteen parishes, each with a local government authority...
of the Zemgale region
Semigalia
Zemgale, also known under Latinized names Semigalia or Semigallia is a historical region of Latvia, sometimes also including a part of Lithuania. It lies in the middle of the southern part of the Republic of Latvia, and borders historical regions of Selonia, Samogitia, Courland and Livland. The...
of southern Latvia, near the town of Bauska
Bauska
Bauska is a town in Bauska municipality, in the Zemgale region of southern Latvia. The town is situated at the confluence of the rivers Mūsa and Mēmele where they form the Lielupe River...
and about 45 miles south of Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
near the Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n border. He emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with his family in 1920, at the age of seven. He lived for most of his life in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and at a young age planned to become a rabbi, but his family could not find a suitable teacher.
At the age of fifteen, Bloom and Jack Levine
Jack Levine
Jack Levine was an American Social Realist painter and printmaker best known for his satires on modern life, political corruption, and biblical narratives.-Biography:...
, another Jewish painter from Boston, received scholarships in the fine arts by the famous Harvard art professor Denman Ross
Denman Ross
Denman Waldo Ross was an American painter, art collector, and scholar of art history and theory. He was a professor of art at Harvard University and a trustee of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston....
(1853–1935). They also studied with Harold Zimmerman, who died in 1941 while still in his thirties. Bloom, along with Levine and another painter, Karl Zerbe
Karl Zerbe
Karl Zerbe was a German-born American painter.The works of Karl Zerbe are significant because they record "the response of a distinguished artist of basically European sensibility to the physical and cultural scene of the New World".-Biography :Karl Zerbe was born in Berlin, Germany.The family...
, eventually became associated with a style named Boston Expressionism.http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/2aa/2aa229.htm
In 1940, after viewing Bloom's abstracted paintings of archeological sites, Clement Greenberg
Clement Greenberg
Clement Greenberg was an American essayist known mainly as an influential visual art critic closely associated with American Modern art of the mid-20th century...
, Jackson Pollock
Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock , known as Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety. He was regarded as a mostly reclusive artist. He had a volatile personality, and...
, and Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning was a Dutch American abstract expressionist artist who was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands....
dubbed Bloom "the greatest artist in America."http://www.artcritical.com/blurbs/JSBloom.htm In 1949, Bloom received a Guggenheim fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
, and in 1950 he was one of only seven artists (including Arshile Gorky
Arshile Gorky
Arshile Gorky was an Armenian-born American painter who had a seminal influence on Abstract Expressionism. As such, his works were often speculated to have been informed by the suffering and loss he experienced of the Armenian genocide.-Early life:...
, John Marin
John Marin
John Marin was an early American modernist artist. He is known for his abstract landscapes and watercolors.-Biography:...
, Jackson Pollock
Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock , known as Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety. He was regarded as a mostly reclusive artist. He had a volatile personality, and...
, and Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning was a Dutch American abstract expressionist artist who was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands....
) to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...
.http://www.richardmcbee.com/hymanbloomsjourney.html In 1954 Pollock and de Kooning called Bloom "the first Abstract Expressionist
Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
artist in America." The same year, Bloom had a major retrospective of his work at the Whitney Museum of American Art
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
.http://www.richardmcbee.com/hymanbloomsjourney.html
He was a close friend of the composer Alan Hovhaness
Alan Hovhaness
Alan Hovhaness was an Armenian-American composer.His music is accessible to the lay listener and often evokes a mood of mystery or contemplation...
and the Greek mystic painter Hermon di Giovanno. The three of them often met together to discuss various mystical subjects and to listen to Indian classical music
Indian classical music
The origins of Indian classical music can be found in the Vedas, which are the oldest scriptures in the Hindu tradition. Indian classical music has also been significantly influenced by, or syncretised with, Indian folk music and Persian music. The Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, describes music...
. Bloom encouraged di Giovanno in his art, providing him with a set of pastels with which he executed his earliest paintings.
Hyman Bloom: A Spiritual Embrace, a traveling exhibit of his work, will debut in September 2009 at the Yeshiva University Museum
Yeshiva University Museum
The Yeshiva University Museum is a teaching museum and the cultural arm of Yeshiva University. Along with the American Jewish Historical Society, the American Sephardi Foundation, the Leo Baeck Institute, and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, it is a member organization of the Center for...
. Hyman Bloom: The Beauty of All Things, a film about the artist's life and work, will be released in October 2009. A book and exhibition Hyman Bloom's Still Life Paintings:Amphora Pottery in the Eye of a Modern Master is currently being prepared for 2010 by Paul Royka.
Bloom's last residence was in Nashua, New Hampshire
Nashua, New Hampshire
-Climate:-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 86,494 people, 35,044 households, and 21,876 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,719.9 people per square mile . There were 37,168 housing units at an average density of 1,202.8 per square mile...
. He died there on August 26, 2009, at the age of 96. He is survived by his wife Stella.