Art
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12 MAY 14, 2020
THE GOOD LIFE
fine art to craft and kitsch.”
Temple Judea’s most recent exhibition
— it ran through the beginning of March
— was dedicated to the work of Hilu,
but it couldn’t have come off if not for
Weisman, who sold, donated or loaned
25 pieces by Hilu that became part of
that exhibition. Many, Poley said, have
become part of the museum’s permanent
collection, so it was only appropriate that
the exhibition would be named, in part,
for Weisman: “Hilu Through the Eyes of
a Collector.”
Largely self-taught, a so-called outsider
to the art establishment, Hilu’s cartoonish
and whimsical depictions of Jewish ritual
life on New York’s Lower East Side have
drawn the attention of collectors in recent
years. And his sketches of notorious
Nazi war criminals like Rudolf Hess and
Hermann Goering, made while serving
as an Army guard at the Nuremberg
trials, reside in repose at the Library
of Congress.

“You can’t always get his stuff because
some people are actually grabbing it up
right now,” Weisman said, acknowledging
that over the last few years, and after his
death, Hilu’s work has risen in value.

Meanwhile, Weisman’s proud to have
patronized Hilu early, while he was still
alive, and he’s similarly proud to have
played such a prominent role in the first
museum-caliber exhibition of his work.

“I was thrilled to get exposure for
Mr. Hilu,” Weisman told the Exponent
earlier this year, adding that he hoped
the exhibition would show people that a
robust world of Judaica exists beyond the
big-name artists.

Weisman doesn’t swim with the big
fish of the collecting world. There’s a
thrill, he concedes, in appraising less-
er-known talent correctly, but mostly he
just likes what he likes, notwithstanding
the signature in the bottom corner of the
frame. You could say he has inexpensive
taste, or you could say he’s got an eye for
value. His track record suggests it’s more of
the latter.

Weisman said he paid about $500 for
a painting by Ben Avram, a Jewish artist
from India, whose work was relatively
unknown when Weisman first encoun-
tered it in Israel.

“I found this guy before he really
busted out; then he moved to Israel and
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



his stuff really took off,” he said. “That was
one of the first large purchases I ever made.

I bought it at a gallery right next door to the
King David Hotel (in Jerusalem).”
Weisman estimated the Avram piece is
worth close to $3,000 now.

“I don’t go in for the paintings that are
up in the stratosphere. I let my work go
up in value. Once, I overpaid by a mile for
something I really wanted, and I should’ve
listened to my conscience, which told me,
‘Wait a while.’”
Not many know Weisman collects to
this extent — or is even a collector at all.

It’s not something he’s kept secret; people
just don’t seem to catch the vibe of a Jewish
art collector coming off a man who rarely
attends shul and was so devoted to his
professional life.

“They always tell me I’m the last person in
the world they thought would be collecting
art — it’s not me, they say. But, then, they
come over here, and they’re fascinated —
they only want to know what I’ve gotten
recently. And I take them in the den and
make sure the den door’s closed so my wife
doesn’t see anything new.” l
msilver@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0737
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Nathan Hilu is among Weisman’s favorite artists because his work is whimsical and humorous but
also deferential to tradition and ritual.

Courtesy of Robert Weisman
THE GOOD LIFE
MAY 14, 2020
13