Jacob's Ladder

The theme of the sacrificial ram, caught in a thicket is a familiar one in Weil’s works. Combining the dove of hope with the ram of sacrifice, the artist yields a visual statement of tenderness and strength. The ram’s horns are used as the central structural focus for the work, while between them Weil has combined aleph, yud and lamed (ayil, meaning ram) to denote its importance.

Shraga Weil was born in Nitra, Czechoslovakia in 1918 to a family of teachers, journalists and merchants. His father, a building engineer, who was an amateur painter, sent him to study with a local sculptor and then to the Prague School of Art.

He produced his first graphic works during World War II, part of which he spent as a prisoner. After the war, Weil sailed for Israel on an illegal immigrant ship, eventually arriving in the new country in 1947 and becoming a member of Kibbutz Haogen, where he has been living ever since.

In 1954 Weil spent some time studying murals and graphic techniques at the Academie des Beaux Arts, Paris and Ravenna mosaics with Prof. Severinl.

Shraga Weil’s works have been exhibited in the United States, South America, Canada, Australia, France, the USSR, Switzerland, and in the International Exhibition of Graphic Arts, in Lugano. In 1959, Weil was awarded Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Art Prize

Shraga Weil was born in Nitra, Czechoslovakia in 1918 to a family of teachers, journalists and merchants. His father, a building engineer, who was an amateur painter, sent him to study with a local sculptor and then to the Prague School of Art.

He produced his first graphic works during World War II, part of which he spent as a prisoner. After the war, Weil sailed for Israel on an illegal immigrant ship, eventually arriving in the new country in 1947 and becoming a member of Kibbutz Haogen, where he has been living ever since.

In 1954 Weil spent some time studying murals and graphic techniques at the Academie des Beaux Arts, Paris and Ravenna mosaics with Prof. Severinl.

Shraga Weil’s works have been exhibited in the United States, South America, Canada, Australia, France, the USSR, Switzerland, and in the International Exhibition of Graphic Arts, in Lugano. In 1959, Weil was awarded Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Art Prize.

Museums and Public Collections

Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts
Boston Public Library
Israel Museum, Jerusalem
William Rockhill Nelson Gallery, Kansas City, MO
Fogg Museum, Harvard University
Los Angeles County Museum
Jewish Museum, New York
Philadephia Museum of Art
Joslyn Museum, Omaha, Nebraska
Judah Magnes Museum, Berkeley, CA