Portraits of His People  

Itshak Holtz, who passed away in 2018 at age 93, was considered the greatest living Jewish artist during his lifetime, his images beloved for their soul-touching authenticity. While most of his paintings were grabbed up by private collectors, is there a way the public can yet have access to this master?

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.”

 —Edgar Degas

Where does a person go to appreciate beautiful paintings? Most of us naturally think of museums, those repositories of art on display for the general public to contemplate and admire.

But what if an artist’s work exists mostly in private hands? How will the public be able to appreciate it, to even be aware it exists?

That’s what happened to the work of frum Jewish artist Itshak Holtz, who passed away in 2018 at age 93. During his lifetime, he was considered by some critics as the greatest living Jewish artist, with his paintings commanding six-figure sums that didn’t deter the collectors who snapped up his work. His images are still popular and beloved because of their realism and authenticity — the winding alleyways of Jerusalem and Tzfas, the interiors of synagogues and shops, old men and women, hardworking shoemakers and diligent Torah scholars, all made magically connectible through his brush.

While some of his works hang in museums, including landscapes acquired by secular exhibits, the bulk of his Jewish-themed oeuvre is not accessible to the public, having been grabbed up by private collections.