Itzchak Tarkay Extremely Large 60" x 60" Signed Original Acrylic Painting Ladies Seated at Tables

Artist: Itzchak Tarkay
Title: Ladies Seated at Tables
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Canvas Size: 60" x 60"
Frame Size: 61" x 61"
Edition: Original
Inscription: Signed lower right
Condition: Some minor scratches (upper left, lower right) and minor surface soiling
Documentation: Includes Gallery Certificate of Authenticity

Israeli artist, Itzchak Tarkay, is recognized as a leading figure and member of the modern figurative movement. Today, he is known for his painting style reminiscent of the work of French artists Henri Matisse and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. His artworks embraced various mediums such as oil, acrylic, and watercolor.

The skilled graphic artist often employed a rich tapestry of form and color in his compositions. Heavily influenced by French Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, he captured fleeting moments of daily life. He focused primarily on dreamlike depictions of elegant women in classical scenes such as parlors, terraces, or quiet cafes.

Ladies Seated at Tables illustrates an outdoor café scene. Two groups of women dressed elegantly sit at tables and enjoy their drinks as they talk with each other. The acrylic painting embodies Tarkay’s characteristic combination of impressionistic painting style and a post-impressionistic color palette.

Ladies Seated at Tables is the largest Tarkay piece available on the secondary market, measuring 60" x 60". It includes a gallery certificate of authenticity and is signed on the lower right. The artwork has some minor scratches on the upper left and lower right, as well as some minor surface soiling.

About Itzchak Tarkay

Acknowledged for his vibrant Post-Impressionist portraits, Itzchak Tarkay is considered one of the principal 20th-century Israeli artists. His style is characterized by expressive, colorful and highly recognizable figuration, revealing a strong influence of both Matisse and Toulouse-Lautrec. Full of life and tranquility, paintings Tarkay produced give an idealized version of life, counterbalancing the difficult upbringing this talented artist endured.

Born in 1935 in Subotica, close to the Serbian-Hungarian border, Itzchak Tarkay was a young boy when World War II began. Along with his family, he was captured and sent to the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp in 1944. They survived and returned to Subotica in 1945, towards the end of the war. In 1949, the family emigrated to Israel. Tarkay’s interest in art first emerged in Subotica, and he pursued to study art in Israel. Still, his studies were made difficult with his family’s economic situation and mobilization, but he did graduate in 1956. At the age of 26, he had his first exhibition. Even though he was praised as a painter and the show was successful, the artist stopped painting. Only after a 15-year long break, he resumed his artistic work, with an exhibition in Tel Aviv in 1975. This year marked the beginning of his international career, since he continued to work and exhibit, soon reaching New York and signing with the famous Park West Gallery.

Itzchak Tarkay’s style is strikingly unique. What we recognize as a new figurative take on a female form also tells a story about an ageless world of leisure, featuring ladies occupying different parlors, cafés and terraces. Inspired by leading artists of early modern art, Tarkay developed a particular palette, endowing his works with a fresh energy. He saw the female form as a supreme manifestation of beauty, finding inspiration in it continuously. His works owe much to his artistic instinct, leading the observer into the sphere of peace, universal values, and elegance.

As per his own admission, Itzchak Tarkay enjoyed meeting and conversing with collectors. Since the 1980s, his works became favorites among American art lovers, while the artist exhibited in over 50 exhibitions across the planet. He created in different media, leaving a significant legacy of oils, acrylics, watercolors, and prints.

Itzchak Tarkay died in 2012 in Detroit, while visiting his gallery.