Sigmund Morton Abeles is a renowned pastel artist, painter, sculptor, and printmaker. He was born in New York City in 1934 but grew up in South Carolina, which inspired his commitment to the Civil Rights movement. His works often convey strong statements, for instance, his Gift of America Series and Vietnam Series, which comment on the United States’ involvement in Vietnam in the 1960s (Bates; Whitney Museum of American Art). Abeles began his artistic education at the University of South Carolina and attended the Art Students League in New York in the summer of 1954. In 1955, he had his first solo exhibition at the Florence Museum of Art (Florence, SC) and attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture for two consecutive summers, in 1955 and 1956. While enrolled at the school, in 1956, he was invited to contribute a fresco panel for the South Solon Meeting House. In 1957, he received a master of fine arts from Columbia University. Abeles held teaching positions at institutions such as Boston University School of Fine Arts, Wellesley College, and the University of New Hampshire, from which he retired in 1987. Abeles continues to create full-time in his New York City and upstate New York studios. He is the recipient of numerous grants and awards, and is a National Academician. His work may be found in many public institutions, including The British Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Colby College Museum of Art.
—Robert I. Villani
- Bates College; Museum of Art; Print Highlights. “Gift of America Series #1, Vietnam War, Woman in Napalm, 1966.”
- Cummings, Mildred H. South Solon: The Story of a Meeting House. South Solon, Maine: South Solon Historical Society, 1959.
- McElhinney, James L. “Conversation with Artist Sigmund Abeles.” Needlewatcher 6 March 2017.
- National Academy of Design. “Sigmund Abeles.” Sigmund Abeles. The Johnson Collection. “Sigmund Abeles (Born 1934).”
- Whitney Museum of American Art; Collection/Works. “Sigmund Abeles, Vietnam Series: Helicopters. 1967.” Wikipedia. “Sigmund Abeles.”