A major collection of art by the internationally acclaimed artist and illustrator Jacob Landau (1917-2001) has been given to Monmouth University by the Jacob Landau Institute of Roosevelt, New Jersey. Landau is known for his superb draftsmanship and range, executing exquisite black and white prints for Dante’s Inferno, as well as brightly colored designs for the ten stained glass windows that each rise more than 20 feet with the sanctuary walls of Keneseth Israel in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania.

The works of printmaker and painter Landau, who has been praised as a “humanist” artist, explore the basic themes of human existence and morality with an insight that is both passionate and indignant. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he studied at the Philadelphia College of Art, Landau lived most of his adult life in Roosevelt, New Jersey, immersing himself in the town’s thriving artistic community, which included the noted artist Ben Shahn.

An extraordinary artist, Landau’s works gained him an impressive reputation, with many of them committed to the permanent collections in a number of the world’s finest museums, including the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. Landau had major retrospectives at the New Jersey State Museum in 1983 and the Woodmere Museum in 1999.

About his objectives, Landau has said, “I am interested in art as advocacy of the human, as revelation of the tragic, as hope of transcendence.” The works gifted to Monmouth University, such as The Holocaust Suite and Meditation on Love and Death, demonstrate this passionate commitment. Director of Galleries and Collections at Monmouth University, Scott Knauer, said, “We are honored by this gift, one of the most significant collections of art that the University has received, which will be of tremendous benefit not only to our students and faculty but to residents of the surrounding communities as well.”

Having received an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Monmouth University in 1996, Landau’s spirit has come full circle. University President, Paul G. Gaffney II, was “delighted to receive such a gift.” He remembers vividly the recent exhibit of Landau’s work that Monmouth University hosted in 2007, and added, “We are honored by Jacob Landau, through this gift from the Jacob Landau Institute, as we have honored him.”

In turn, David Herrstrom, president of the Jacob Landau Institute, was “delighted to give Landau’s art to the University.” Having been “seduced by the endlessly inventive and exhilaratingly imaginative work, with its sinewy honesty that is Landau’s,” he said, “it is wonderful to know that his art has found such a fine and appropriate home in the Monmouth University galleries.”

If you would like more information about this donation, please contact Dr. Saliba Sarsar, associate vice president for Academic Program Initiatives, at 732 571 4474.