THE JEWISH HOLIDAYS

Forward by Rabbi Avraham Soltes. Light blue cloth portfolio, upper cover with gilt titling, in a matching clamshell box with gilt titling on cover and spine. WITH 11 COLOR LITHOGRAPHS, titled, numbered, and SIGNED BY CHAIM GROSS. Text printed in red and black. ◆In mint condition.

In this jubilant exploration of faith and community, prominent Jewish artist and émigré Chaim Gross (1902-91) presents a joyful mix of animated figures, bright colors, and decorative lettering in a series of lithographs illustrating the 10 holiest days of the Jewish calendar. Displaced from his small village in the Carpathian Mountains during the First World War, Gross in 1921 immigrated to America, where he studied at the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design in New York. He specialized in sculpture and printmaking, employing the method of direct carving he helped pioneer and for which he would predominantly be known. Following the Second World War, Gross became increasingly interested in Jewish subjects, and travelled to Israel on several occasions to complete a sculpture of its first president, Chaim Weizmann, as well as to make watercolor sketches of the countryside. The 11 lithographs in the present series were also conceived as watercolors, lending a dream-like quality to scenes heavy with nostalgia, reverence, and warmth. In the foreword to the present work, Rabbi Soltes explains that "In these lithographs, Gross recaptures the color of his childhood and his skill makes them come alive for those who have shared the experience. For those to whom this vanished world is mere history, Gross offers an emotional insight as well as aesthetic pleasure.".