Lot 382: Wilhelm Wachtel (1874-1942) – Portrait of Leo Motzkin – Drawing

Wilhelm Wachtel (1874-1942), Portrait of Leo Motzkin, 1921.
Pencil on card. Signed and dated 1921.
Wilhelm (Ze'ev) Wachtel (1875-1942), a Lviv-born artist, illustrator and graphic designer, acquired his artistic training at the Krakow Academy of Fine Arts and later at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. Active in Poland, Austria and France. In 1936, he immigrated to Palestine, later moving to the USA, where he passed away. Wachtel is known for his realistic Shtetl images, pictures from the lives of the pioneers of Palestine and Romantic and Oriental biblical scenes inspired by the Bezalel school.
Leo Motzkin (1876-1933), a Zionist leader, one of the initiators of the Zionist Congress and the second chairman of the Zionist executive committee. He was born in Ukraine, yet most of his life studied and worked in Germany. An ally of Herzl's within the Zionist Movement, he supported political Zionism. He worked to promote the welfare of minorities in general and the welfare of the Jews of Russia in particular. During his last years he lobbied for the Jews of Germany under the Nazi regime. He passed away in Paris.
30.5X25.5 cm. Good condition. Minor stains. Matted.
Provenance: The Rimon Family Collection.