Harold Kopel ROI, Standing Female Nude Life Study – 1958 graphite drawing
Harold Kopel ROI, Standing Female Nude Life Study – 1958 graphite drawing

Harold Kopel ROI Standing Female Nude Life Study

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View the full Collection: Kopel ROI, Harold (1915–2009)

An original 1958 graphite drawing, Harold Kopel ROI, Standing Female Nude Life Study.

A striking mid-century nude figure study by artist Harold Kopel (1915–2009) on a large sheet.

This is one of a collection of life drawings that we have for sale by Kopel dated 1958–9. The drawings observe the realities of the human figure in a way that is not idealised, whilst also having something monumental about them. Heavily outlined, they are slightly stylised in their proportions, and recall the figuration of a number of other British artists working in the 1950s. Kopel exhibited at the Ben Uri Art Society, founded in London's Whitechapel to bring together the work of Jewish artists. It is interesting to consider his work in the context of other Jewish figurative artists exhibiting at Ben Uri in the mid-20th century, such as Eva Frankfurther and Josef Herman.

+ Read the Artist Research

Harold Kopel ROI (1915–2009)

London-based artist Harold Kopel (1915–2009) was born in Newcastle upon Tyne. It appears that his father was Polish, born at Lodz, and was a jeweller by profession. His grandfather, also Polish, died in Leeds in 1919.

Harold Kopel moved from Newcastle to the capital, where he studied at University College London and at the Central School of Arts and Crafts. He went on to become a school art master and a senior lecturer in further education.

Kopel was a member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters and frequently took part in group exhibitions, including at the ROI, the New English Art Club, the Arcade Gallery in Temple Fortune, the Royal West of England Academy and the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. He won a Silver Medal at the Paris Salon and the Cornelissen Prize at the 1990 ROI annual show. He also had a series of solo exhibitions, including at the Ben Uri Art Society in 1974, which specialises in Jewish artists.

Peter Stone, the art critic for the 'Jewish Chronicle' called him a 'gentle, quiet, soft painter with a good colour range'. His style in oil can be described as Abstract Impressionist, a style which developed in the 1940s and combined pure abstraction with an impression of reality. Kopel's work tried to ‘to convey his struggle to capture the mystery of nature’, seeking to ‘suggest, never dictate'.

COA
+ Artwork Details

Dimensions: Height: 50.55cm (19.9") Width: 37.4cm (14.72")

Presented: Unframed. Please note that this picture will ship rolled in a tube.

Medium: Graphite

Age: Mid-20th-century

Signed: Signed lower right.

Inscribed: --

Dated: Dated lower right.

Condition: The odd spot of foxing as shown. The picture may have other minor imperfections such as slight marks, toning, creasing or pinholes, commensurate with age. Please see photos for detail.

Stock number: JU-324