Marcel Janco 1895-1984

Rosenfeld Gallery, Tel Aviv (purchased by the father of the present owner circa 1960)
Thence by descent

Emigrating to Israel in 1940 from Rumania, Janco was a member of the original Dada group in Zurich, which rejected the forms and values of  Western civilization in response to the trauma of World War I. "After the Dada revolution, which was characterized by new means of expression and the use of 'non-noble, non-artistic' materials, Janco returned to painting. Despite the fierce opposition of members of the Dada group to both Cubism and Expressionism... Janco, after the tempest of the nihilistic Dada rebellion, took time to examine the 'lessons' of what had been considered the avantgarde on the eve of the First World War. He based his plastic language on the fresh heritage of Cubism and Expressionism, although he remained loyal to the spirit of Dada until his dying day" (Sorin Heller quoted in 90 Years of Israeli Art: A Selection from the Joseph Hackmey - Israel Phoenix Collection, Tel Aviv Museum of Art (exhibition catalogue), 1998-1999, p. 244)