Illustration Program Hosts Alumnus Max Ginsburg April 16-17

Thursday, April 10, 2014, By Erica Blust
Max Ginsburg, "Emily," oil on masonite, 14" x 11", 1998.

Max Ginsburg, “Emily,” oil on masonite, 14″ x 11″, 1998.

The illustration program in the ’ Department of Art will welcome painter and illustrator Max Ginsburg ’53 to campus April 16-17.

Ginsburg will demonstrate and discuss his painting process and philosophy during a demonstration and lecture on Thursday, April 17, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Shaffer Art Building’s Shemin Auditorium. The program is free and open to the public.

“The Realities of Our Times,” an exhibit of Ginsburg’s work, will be on display at ArtRage Gallery, 505 Hawley Ave., from Saturday, April 12, through Saturday, May 24. Gallery hours are Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 2-7 p.m. and Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. An opening reception will be held on April 12 from 7-9 p.m.

Ginsburg’s visit to SU begins on Wednesday, April 16, when he will meet with illustration students to critique the work of graduate-level and senior students in Professor John Thompson’s “Portfolio” class. An afternoon presentation for the symposium class will include a presentation and overview of his esteemed career in the field of Illustration and many of his contemporary paintings, which explore the human condition and life’s ironies and social injustices. Issues of war and peace, racism and the inhumanity of man have been a major focus in his art.

“Ginsburg’s fidelity to the truth will prompt us to face what we would rather not face and feel emotions we’d rather not feel. ..,” says Maureen Bloomfield, editor in chief of The Artist’s Magazine.

The son of a painter, Ginsburg studied art at New York City’s famed High School of Music and Art and majored in painting at VPA. He earned his living as a commercial artist from 1955 to 1960, and then acquired a full-time teaching job at New York City’s High School of Art and Design from 1960 to 1981. Ginsburg worked as an illustrator from 1980 to 2004, achieving particular success painting covers for novels. Learn more at .

For more information on Ginsburg’s visit, contact Illustration Program Coordinator James Ransome at jransome@syr.edu or 315-443-1138.