Painter, printmaker and sculptor, Leon Bibel was born in San Francisco in 1913. He trained at the California School of Fine Arts and received a scholarship to study under the German Impressionist Maria Riedelstein. He worked in collaboration with Bernard Zackheim, a student of Diego Rivera, to create frescoes for the San Francisco Jewish Community Center and the University of California Medical School.

In 1936 Bibel moved from California to join the WPA Federal Art Project in New York City. He taught at P.S. 94 and Bronx House and later joined the Easel Project and the Graphic Art Project at the Harlem Art Center. It was a period of inspiring camaraderie and great productivity for the artist.

When Bibel's program in the WPA ended in 1941, he moved with his wife to South Brunswick, New Jersey. Bibel ceased his artistic endeavors and, in order to support his family, worked as a chicken farmer for the following twenty years. Finally resuming his artistic pursuits in the early 1960s, he continued to work in the mediums of painting and sculpture until his death.

Bibel's graphic work is distinguished by its boldly conceived, dramatic composition and passionately executed, expressionist rendering. His WPA work is imbued with a deep sense of humanity and often addresses issues of social justice and the plight of the working man. Much of his WWII imagery focuses on the destructiveness of war and the resultant alienation of man.

Bibel's numerous exhibitions include: Newark Museum (1966, one-man); Jersey City Museum (1967); Hunterdon County Art Center, Clinton, NJ (1978); Monmouth College Art Festival (1978); Rutgers State University (1978); New Jersey State Museum (1978, one-man); Rider College, Lawrenceville, NJ (1983, one-man); Hillel Foundation of Rutgers (1985-86, one-man); Trenton State College (1985); Noyes Museum (1986); National Academy of Design (1987); Rutgers Labor Education Center (1988, one-man); Ellarslie Museum, Trenton, NJ (1990); Mercer County Community College, Trenton, NJ (1990); South Brunswick Public Library (1990-91, one-man); Hillel Foundation of Rutgers (1991); Trenton City Museum (1991); Noyes Museum (1991); Klutznick Museum, Washington, DC (1992); Joseph Gallery, Hebrew Union College (1992, one-man); National Jewish Museum (1992); and Hunterdon Art Center (1993, one-man).

Bibel's work is included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Newark Museum, the Zimmerli Art Museum of Rutgers, the Amon Carter Museum, the Dade County Museum, the Klutznick Museum, the Art Collection of the Federal Reserve Board, Rutgers State University, Rider College, Ohio University, George University, and the New Brunswick State Theater, as well as many corporate and private collections.

G.W. Bridge -- 1938, Lithograph.

Edition 25. Signed L Bibel, dated, titled and numbered /10 in pencil. Numbered 25 in the bottom right sheet corner, verso.

Image size 11 7/8 x 9 3/8 inches (302 x 238 mm); sheet size 13 x 13 1/4 inches (330 x 337 mm).

A fine, rich impression, on cream wove paper, with full margins (5/8 to 2 1/4 inches). Traces of printing ink in the top margin; a crease across the bottom left sheet corner, well away from the image; otherwise in excellent condition.

$4500.

Street Band -- 1938, Lithograph.

Edition 12. Signed, titled and numbered /12 in pencil.

Image size 10 5/8 x 14 3/4 inches (270 x 375 mm); sheet size 15 1/2 x 20 1/8 inches (394 x 511 mm).

A rich, clean impression, with full margins (1 3/4 to 2 7/8 inches) on cream wove paper, in excellent condition.

$2000.

Unemployed Marchers -- c.1938, 2-Color Lithograph.

Edition 25. Signed, titled and numbered 5/25 in pencil.

Image size 11 1/4 x 13 1/4 inches (286 x 337 mm); sheet size 13 x 15 3/8 inches (330 x 391 mm).

A fine, rich impression, on off-white wove paper, with full margins (3/4 to 1 1/8 inches), in excellent condition. Created while Bibel worked in the New York WPA, this image was not printed until the artist brought it to master printer Bill Haberman in 1988.

$2600.

Archway -- 1939, Color Serigraph

Edition 25. Signed, dated, titled and numbered /25 in pencil.

Image size 13 5/8 x 10 5/16 inches (346 x 262 mm); sheet size 17 x 13 7/8 inches (432 x 352 mm).

A rich, painterly impression, with fresh colors, on buff wove paper; full margins (1 1/2 to 2 inches), in excellent condition.

$1600.

Carousel -- 1939, Color Serigraph

Edition 35. Signed, dated, titled and numbered 12/35 in pencil. Signed in the screen, lower left.

Image size 13 7/8 x 11 inches (352 x 279 mm); sheet size 14 5/8 x 11 1/2 inches (371 x 292 mm).

A rich, painterly impression, with strong colors, on buff laid paper; full margins (1 1/4 to 1 5/8 inches), in excellent condition.

$2200.

Summer Showers -- 1939, Lithograph.

Edition 12. Signed, dated, titled and numbered /12 in pencil.

Image size 14 1/8 x 10 1/4 inches (359 x 260 mm); sheet size 15 7/8 x 11 3/8 inches (403 x 289 mm).

A fine, rich impression, on cream wove paper, with full margins (5/8 to 1 inch), in excellent condition.

$1400. HOLD

Upper Harlem River -- 1939, Color Serigraph.

Edition 40, artist's proof. Signed, dated, titled and annotated A/P and Proof in pencil. Signed in the screen, lower left.

Image size 19 1/8 x 14 inches (486 x 356 mm); sheet size 24 1/8 x 18 inches (613 x 457 mm).

A rich, painterly impression, with fresh colors, on cream wove paper; with full margins (2 to 2 1/2 inches). Several short, repaired tears in the sheet edges, otherwise in excellent condition.

Collection: Pfizer.

$3400.