Leonard Baskin began his career as a sculptor, but he is primarily known for his printmaking. His works explore the numerous and complex states of the human condition and spirituality, in particular that of Jewish mysticism. Completed shortly after World War II, the wizened, half-clad figure enmeshed in stylized barbed wire in Man of Peace recalls innocent victims of the holocaust and speaks of strength in the face of adversity and persecutiuon.

Baskin was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in 1922, but grew up in New York City. He studied art first at New York University and Yale University. In 1949, after three years of navy service during World War II, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree at the New School for Social Research, New York. In 1853, Baskin began teaching at Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts.

Source: News, May June 1997.