Israelis You Should Know: Zahara Schatz

The Fellowship  |  April 7, 2017

Zahara Schatz, smiling softly while she's pointing at something.
Israelis You Should Know: Zahara Schatz

Lived: 1916-1999

Known for: An Israeli artist and painter, Zahara was also the daughter of Boris Schatz, known as “the father of Israeli art.”

Why you should know her: Zahara was born in Jerusalem in 1916. Her parents had made aliyah (immigrated to the Holy Land) a decade before, where her father Boris founded the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in the Holy City.

Coming from an artistic family, Zahara studied in Paris before rising to prominence in Israel and around the world. She exhibited her work in the United States and Europe, where she won many prestigious awards and prizes, including for a lamp design in 1951. Zahara’s work pursued both fine arts, as well as a craft design.

One of Zahara’s most famous designs was the gate of the Israeli President’s house in Jerusalem.

Throughout her life, Zahara lived in Israel, as well as in New York and California. In 1955, she won the Israel Prize for painting and sculpture, and in 1960, she won the Yad Vashem Prize for a six-branch candelabrum.

Zahara Schatz passed away in Jerusalem, her homeland, in 1999.