Lot 121: Shmuel Ben-David (1884-1927) – Two Drawings

Two drawings by Shmuel Ben-David (1884-1927).
1. Portrait of a woman, ink on paper. Signed "S.D." (Shmuel Davidov).
Approx. 31.5X24.5 cm. Good condition. Minor stains.
2. Jerusalem, ink on paper. Not signed. A pencil sketch on verso (bird).
13X29 cm. Matted. Good condition. Minor stains.
Shmuel Ben-David was born in 1884 in Sofia, Bulgaria as Shmuel Davidov. He was accepted to the Art Academy in Sofia, where in 1903-1905 he studied under Professor Boris Shatz and specialized in carpet weaving and designing carpet patterns. At the end of December 1905, Ben-David arrived in Palestine together with Boris Shatz and studied in the highest grade in the first class of Bezalel. From 1907, he organized Bezalel's Carpet-Weavind Department, taught there and later also taught perspective, sketching and crafts. Ben-David was one of the founders of the Hebrew Artists Association and served as its chairman. He died in Jerusalem in 1927 at the young age of 42. Ben-David was one of the senior teachers at Bezalel. Having taught Nachum Gutman, Haim Gliksberg, Moshe Castel, Avigdor Stematsky and many others, he was a significant contributor to the Bezalel design language.