Page 334 - The Legacy of Abraham Rothstein - text

Genre: modern

This roughly-carved figure of a beardless man in topcoat on a
circular base probably does not represent a specific person.
The hands are clasped in front, but the gesture does not
convey much. AR did not lacquer the piece, indicating it was
either an unimportant study or a failed attempt at rendering
some unknown subject.

151 Man holding a book
Wood
14.25” x 3.25”

This Jew with a forked spade beard may come out of AR’s
memories of his childhood teachers, or of a type of Warsaw
intellectual. The man wears a yarmulke, but his outer garb is a
frock coat, not a caftan. He holds a book in both hands: one
under it, the other on top, one finger marking a place within
the pages. The piece is carved from a block rather than a
branch, so the usual cylindrical form is a bit flatter in front and
back. The man’s trousers and shoes make clear his modern
Europeanization. The figure stands on a square base.

107 Man holding a book
Wood
12” x 6”

Carved from the waist up, this bowling pin-shaped figure has
the look of a schoolmaster. His clothes are twentieth-century,
his head bare, face beardless, and he holds a book against his
jacket. The piece has a smooth round finish, in contrast to the
stiffness of pose.

84 Walking man * ••
Wood
10.5” x 2.5”
Inscription: Abraham (Hebrew, on bottom of base)

AR carved no self-portraits; he might have scoffed at the
suggestion. Yet, given his own description of himself traveling
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