Léon Zack

Léon Zack (1892-1980) was a Russian-born French artist. Throughout his career, Zack expressed his artistic talent in many mediums. While it was his talent as a painter that brought him international success he also published poetry, produced sets and costumes for Ballets Russes productions, created fabric patterns for the fashion designer Monatti, and made glass sculptures of ballet dancers and musicians for the Primavera art shop in Paris.

While living and working in Paris, Zack's style underwent several profound changes. When he arrived in the early 1920s his painting was figurative. In the 1930's he became closely associated with the neo-humanist movement, inspired by Waldemar George, Hosiasson, Christian Bérard, Eugene Berman, and Pavel Tchelitchew. In the 1940s neo-humanism in Zack's work was fully replaced by strict expressionism. In 1947 Zack turned to lyrical abstraction, later to abstract expressionism. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, Léon Zack continued to exhibit widely and successfully. The painter diversified his creative career by also working on theatre and ballet productions, illustrating books by famous French authors, and writing poetry.

Today works by Léon Zack are held in the collection of many Modern and Contemporary Art centres in Europe and the United States, including Musée National d’Art Moderne (Paris), Tate Modern (London); the Phillips Collection (Washington).