Michael Mazur (1935–2009)

was an American painter and printmaker celebrated for his dynamic interplay between observational narrative and gestural abstraction. Throughout his five-decade career, he delved into themes such as social documentation, psychological portraiture, and expressive landscapes, seamlessly transitioning between figuration and abstraction. 

Born in New York City, Mazur attended the Horace Mann School, where he co-founded an art club with future curator Henry Geldzahler and cartoonist Ed Koren. He worked as a studio assistant to painter Alan Ullman in Greenwich Village during his Saturdays. In 1957, he took a year off from his undergraduate studies at Amherst College to study at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, Italy. Upon returning, he completed his education at Amherst and pursued rigorous printmaking studies under Leonard Baskin at Smith College. Mazur earned his BFA and MFA from the Yale School of Art and Architecture, studying with notable artists such as Josef Albers, Naum Gabo, Rico Lebrun, and Gabor Peterdi. 

In 1961, inspired by his volunteer work at a psychiatric hospital, Mazur began his acclaimed “Closed Ward” series, depicting the lives of the mentally ill. That same year, he held his first solo exhibition at the Barone Gallery in New York. A 1968 exhibition of Edgar Degas’ monotypes inspired Mazur to experiment prolifically with the medium, leading to significant acclaim. 

Settling in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1964, Mazur held teaching positions at institutions including the Rhode Island School of Design and Brandeis University. His proximity to student unrest and his own political activism influenced works such as the “Stoneham Zoo Series” (1976–1979) and his illustrations of Dante’s “Inferno” (1993). In 1970, he declined an invitation to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale in protest of governmental policies. 

Mazur’s work is held in numerous prestigious collections, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Art Institute of Chicago; the British Museum; the Metropolitan Museum of Art; and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He passed away in 2009, leaving behind a legacy of artistic exploration and social commentary.