Paintings, drawings, prints, watercolours — any period and series.
Direct purchase from private owners. No fees.
I am a private collector with a deep passion for the work of Jan Lebenstein. Particularly interested in Axial Figures, bestiary works and works on paper.
All periods — Axial Figures (1959–), bestiary, late compositions. Canvas and board.
Ink drawings, watercolours, gouaches — the core of his practice. Any format.
Original prints, lithographs, serigraphs. Illustrations to Orwell, Book of Job, Apocalypse.
Fantastic compositions with monstrous bestiary — 1960s and beyond.
Iconic vertical "crucified" figures from 1959–1965. Any variant.
I accept works in any condition — restoration needed, unframed.
Jan Lebenstein was born on 5 January 1930 in Brest-Litovsk. Of Polish-Jewish descent, he was a Holocaust survivor. He studied painting at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts (1948–1954), painting nostalgic Warsaw landscapes and interior scenes with grotesque figures.
In 1959 he went to Paris, winning the Grand Prix at the 1st Paris Biennale of Young Artists. He abandoned the theatricality of his earlier figures for dramatic, "crucified" Axial Figures. In the 1960s he populated his canvases with a fantastic and monstrous bestiary, inspired by the mythologies of Assyria, Babylon and Egypt.
His works have sold at Christie's and Desa Unicum. Record: ~$127,751 (Desa Unicum, 2020). Works held at MoMA New York, the National Museum in Wrocław and Zachęta. He illustrated Orwell, the Book of Job, the Apocalypse and Genesis.
I buy directly from private owners — no auction, no gallery.
Prices based on current market data. No pressure.
Your details and the work remain completely confidential.
Send a photo and brief description. I reply personally within 24 hours.