Eulogy

Vancouver-born Louise Schatz, who died in Jerusalem last week at 81, was one of Israel’s most singular artists and perhaps the leading exponent of the abstract watercolor. Between 1945-48 she was one of the “California Seven” group around Big Sur and there married the late Bezalel (Lilic) Schatz, the painter son of Bezalel founder Boris Schatz; they settled here in 1951 and established an applied design group, working out of both Ein Hod and Jerusalem.

Louise designed copper and textiles but her favorite and best medium was the watercolor, often combined with collage. A quiet individualist, she produced work that stood quite apart from the often self-indulgent New Horizons traditions and techniques; there was never anything messy, dishonest or fudged about her compositions. These radiated her own particular quiet charm as well as joyous color, without ever descending to the merely pretty.

Louise was widely exhibited here and abroad and received numerous prizes. For the last decade ill-health forced her to give up Ein Hod and spend all her time in Jerusalem, where she was cared for by the indefatigable Zohara Schatz, the artist daughter of Boris; the two widows lived side-by-side in the historic Schatz apartments behind the original Bezalel complex, where׳ Zohara still makes her home.