Avigdor Stematsky

​Israeli painter, ​Avigdor Stematsky (1908-1989) was born in Odessa and immigrated to Israel in 1921. Stematsky, who studied at the Herzliya Gymnasium and later at ​the ​Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem, was primarily an abstract painter who was influenced by French painting and the avant-garde art of his time. He is considered the founding father of the Masad art group and was later affiliated with the Israeli abstract painting movement​, ​ “New Horizons” (Ofakim Hadashim). Stematsky was one of the prominent teachers at the Avni Institute, and was a significant figure in Israeli art in the 1950’s and 1960’s.