Itzchak Tarkay (1935-2012) Israeli, Numbered Printers Proof Serigraph. Shows two women taking tea with two others in the background behind them. Signature in the print bottom right. Numbered PP 5/55 in white ink bottom left. In printmaking “PP” stands for “Printers Proof,” similar to artists proofs, in that they are used to let a publisher see the progress of the work and are not often made available for sale, which makes this piece fairly unique. Comes with a certificate of authenticity that is dated January 19th, 1999 and includes the title: "Sister at Tea." 

Overall Size: 36 1/2 x 31 1/4 in. 

Sight Size: 26 1/2 x 20 3/4 in. 

Itzchak Tarkay was born in 1935 in Subotica on the Yugoslav-Hungarian border. When he was nine years old the Nazis sent him and his family to Mauthausen concentration camp. After the liberation of the camp the next year they returned home, and while still at school in Subotica Tarkay won a prize for excellence in painting. In 1949 he and his family immigrated to Israel and were sent to a transit camp for new arrivals at Be’er Ya’akov. In 1951, Tarkay received a scholarship to the Bezalel Art Academy in Jerusalem. After returning to Tel Aviv Tarkay enrolled in the Avni Institute of Art, which he graduated from in 1956. He began to exhibit extensively both in Israel and abroad, and his works can be found in many public and private collections. Tarkay worked in acrylic and watercolor, and focused on the female figure by using simplicity of form and line, along with a rich palette not unlike Toulouse-Lautrec, to create sensitive portraits of vibrant women. He was also known for his impact on trade dress law when he sued a company to keep his style from being emulated, in Romm Art Creations Ltd. v. Simcha International, Inc. in 1992, which he won. He died on June 3rd, 2012 during emergency heart surgery while visiting Park West Gallery in Detroit, Michigan.