Jonah Kinigstein

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Jonah Kinigstein
Born(1923-06-26)June 26, 1923
New York City, U.S.
DiedDecember 6, 2025(2025-12-06) (aged 102)
EducationCooper Union
Known forPainter, cartoonist
MovementExpressionism
SpouseEileen Muken
Children2

Jonah Kinigstein (June 26, 1923 – December 6, 2025) was an American artist known for his Expressionist paintings.

Early life and education

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Kinigstein was born in Brooklyn, New York City on June 26, 1923.[1][2][3][4] His parents were Jewish immigrants from Russia and Poland.[4] As a teenager, he would use chalk to make sidewalk art.[4] At times he worked with his father, a house painter.[4]

After high school, he attended Cooper Union.[4][5] Before he graduated, he was drafted into the army during World War II, where he served in a photo topography unit.[4]

Art career

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After being discharged from the army, he moved to Paris, where he attended the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, and Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma.[4][5] He exhibited at the Galerie Huit.[6]

He later moved back to Manhattan.[4] The rise of abstract expressionism and the loss in popularity in figurative art prevented Kinigstein from being able to paint for a living.[4] He worked in commercial art, where he designed Bloomingdale's first collectible shopping bag in 1961.[4] He also began drawing political cartoons criticizing abstract expressionism and the figures in the art world promoting it.[4]

Kinigstein continued to paint for himself. He dubbed his style "figurative expressionism", and his painting frequently depict distorted figures in front of surreal backgrounds.[4] At age 99, he continued to paint for two or three hours a day in his home.[4]

Kinigstein's work is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art,[7] the Smithsonian American Art Museum,[2] and the Whitney Museum of American Art.[8]

Personal life and death

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Kinigstein was married twice and had two children.[4] His second wife is Eileen Muken.[4] He turned 100 in June 2023,[9] and died on December 6, 2025, at the age of 102.[10]

Awards

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Kinigstein was the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship as well as a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation award.[11]

Publications

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In 2014, a book of his cartoons entitled The Emperor's New Clothes: The Tower of Babel in the "Art" World was published by Fantagraphics Underground.[4][12]

In 2022, Unrepentant Artist: The Paintings of Jonah Kinigstein was published.[4][13]

References

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  1. ^ Who's Who in the World. Marquis Who's Who. 1970. p. 519. ISBN 9780837911014. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Jonah Kinigstein". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  3. ^ Young America 1957. Whitney Museum of American Art. 1957. p. 45. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Schuerman, Matthew (January 1, 2023). "This artist stayed figurative when art went abstract — he's finally recognized, at 99". NPR. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Jonah Kinigstein". AskArt. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  6. ^ "Galerie Huit American Artists in Paris 1950-52 Catalog". Worthpoint. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  7. ^ "Jonah Kinigstein MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  8. ^ "Jonah Kinigstein". Whitney Museum of American Art. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  9. ^ "Meet the artist who just turned 100 years old — and is finally having his moment". NPR. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  10. ^ "Jonah Kinigstein". Legacy. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
  11. ^ "Jonah Kinigstein". National Academy of Design. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  12. ^ Kinigstein, Jonah (2014). The Emperor's new clothes : the Tower of Babel in the "art" world. Seattle, Washington: Fantagraphics.
  13. ^ Kinigstein, Jonah (2022). Unrepentant artist : the paintings of Jonah Kinigstein. Seattle, WA: Fantagraphics. ISBN 9781683965411.
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