The Work of Ismar David

Ismar David made his career over a broad spectrum of applied art. His work is exciting, not merely because of its technical excellence, but because it resonates with clarity and color of a distinct and distinctive artistic voice. The Work of Ismar David collects, for the first time, the designer’s lifework. It follows his artistic development from his training in Berlin through his career in Jerusalem and New York. In 1954 David Hebrew indelibly changed the faces of modern Hebrew typography. Among David’s most important book projects are Les Pensées (1971), The Psalms (1973), Our Calligraphic Heritage (1979) and The Hebrew Letter: Calligraphic Variations (1990). His designs for architecture integrate space and ornament, and create public areas graced with decorative detail rarely seen in contemporary settings. A bibliography of known book work is included.

Ismar David's expressive drawings, with their undulating linear quality and unusual construction, show his elegant style in every detail. --Hermann Zapf