Sale 213 Lot 353

CHAIM KOPPELMAN
American, 1920-2009
There is a Way
Etching
Limited edition etching of 25. Pencil signed, numbered, and titled at base. Framed. Not examined out of frame.
Plate: 10 x 18 inches; frame: 18.75 x 27 inches
$150-250

ARTIST PROFILE: Chaim Koppelman (17 November 1920 – 6 December 2009) was a highly influential American printmaker, sculptor, and educator whose work was deeply guided by the philosophy of Aesthetic Realism. Born in Brooklyn, he began his art studies in WPA classes and later worked alongside major figures like Jackson Pollock at the Museum of Non-Objective Painting (now the Guggenheim). During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army, famously participating in the D-Day landings at Omaha Beach and earning a Bronze Star. Upon returning to New York, he became a student and associate of the philosopher Eli Siegel, whose principle of "the oneness of opposites" became the core of Koppelman's artistic practice. In 1959, he established the Printmaking Department at the School of Visual Arts (SVA), where he taught for nearly 50 years. His art, ranging from meticulous etchings and "Napoleonic" miniatures to moving social protests against the Vietnam War, is characterized by a masterful use of light and shadow—a technique he described as the drama of forms emerging from darkness.