Rudi Lehmann (1903-1977)

Rudi Lehmann was born in 1903 in Berlin. In 1933 he immigrated to Eretz Israel with his wife, the artist Hedwig Grossman. In the 1950s, Lehmann was one of the founders of Ein Hod. Most of his work, in sculpture and woodcutting, focuses on animal depictions, and is distinguished by a modernist approach and primitivistic influences. His work has influenced numerous artists like Menashe Kadishman, Raya Bar Adon and others. His works can be found among the collections of the Israel Museum, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and many others. Lehmann’s estate in the field of printmaking was donated to the Jerusalem Print Workshop.

Education
1912 Academy of Berlin, Germany, wood sculpture with Vordermeyer
1917 Berlin, Germany, blacksmithing and metalworking
1922-24 woodcarving and sculpture with sculptor Harold Isenstein
1923 Municipal High School for Art, Berlin, Germany, sculpture and ceramics
1924-28 Modern Art School, Berlin, Germany, sculpture and ceramics

Awards and Prizes
1933, 1950, 1953, 1960 Dizengoff Prize for Painting and Sculpture, Tel Aviv-Yafo

Solo and Duo Exhibitions
1954 Rudolf Lehmann: Sculptures, The Bezalel National Museum, Jerusalem
1961 Exhibition Rudolf Lehmann, Beit Zvi Cultural Center, Ramat Gan
1974 Woodcuttings, Municipal Art Gallery, Smilansky Cultural Center, Rehovot
1978 Sculptures, Reliefs, Woodcuts, Tel Aviv Museum, Tel Aviv-Yafo
1981 Rudi Lehmann and Hedwig Grossman-Lehmann
Mishkan Museum of Art, Kibbutz Ein Harod
1985 Rudi Lehmann, Hedwig Grossman – Woodcuts, Jerusalem Print Workshop, Jerusalem
1989 Reuion: Rudi Lehmann and Disciples, Haifa Museum of Art
1991 Emphasis: Rudi Lehman, Israel Museum, Jerusalem
1994 Rudi Lehmann: ”Man Is Nothing But The Shape Of His Native Landscape”, The Open Museum, Tefen Industrial Park
2008 The Sculptor’s Drawing, Basis School of Sculpture, Herzliya
2011 The Wood Menagerie: Woodcuts and wood sculptures by Rudi Lehmann, Israel Museum, Jerusalem
2016 Joseph Weisman Municipal Art gallery, Givatayim

Group Exhibitions (selection in the field of printmaking)
1967 The First Exhibition of Israeli Graphic-Art, Yad Labanim Museum, Petach Tikva
1967 The First Exhibition of Israeli Graphic-Art, Haifa Museum of Art
1973 Graphic Art in Israel Today, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv-Yafo
1979 The Israeli Grafotec, Shaar Zion Library, Beit Ariella, Tel Aviv-Yafo
1982 Group Exhibition: The Print Art in Israel, Omanot Laam, Tel Aviv-Yafo
2002 Woodcuts in Israel, Tel Aviv Artists’ Association, Tel Aviv-Yafo
2005 The Art of Printing, Painters and Sculptors Association in Israel, Haifa and the North