Harry McCormick’s Paintings: A Uniquely "Yiddishkeit" or Jewish Genre

THE JEWISH PRESS
By Richard McBee

Rabbi Lieberow and Family. Courtesy Chassidic Art Institute

NEW YORK---At the Chassidic Art Institute one artist, Harry McCormick, has rather amazingly fathomed the authentic heartbeat of the individual Jewish life. This exhibition, running until July 25, shows a mere 16 paintings, but six of them reveal a deeply perceptive and sensitive chronicle of Yiddishkeit. McCormick has had a successful career as an artist for most of his adult life, creating what is called genre art. As curated by Chassidic Art Institute’s director Zev Markowitz, the paintings delineate a narrative arc around the gallery: the warmth of the Jewish family unfolds into the blessings of Shabbos and then blossoms into blessing the sun, a mitzvah available only once every 28 years. Moving beyond this sacred familial foundation we see one Jew standing alone in a mystical shul in Safed and then in Jerusalem; finally this Jew encounters a rabbinic mentor in a synagogue in New York. [link]

Chassidic Art Institute: "Harry McCormick," (Ends July 25), 375 Kingston Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 718-774-9149, chjcc.org