The troubling fate of a pioneer’s estate

The estate of sculptor Avraham Melnikov ‏(1892-1960‏), who sculpted the famous “Roaring Lion” at Tel Hai, was sold recently for a pittance to traders in the Haifa and Jaffa flea markets, according to sources close to the affair as well as poet Natan Zach.

	Melnikov’s “Roaring Lion” at Tel Hai.
	Photo by: Archive

The archive had been stored in a suitcase said to contain, among other things, letters between the sculptor and major figures from Israel’s history, including General Allenby and Herbert Samuel, as well as correspondence with Winston Churchill.

The archive was sold after an appraiser on behalf of the custodian general at the Fund for the Care of Dependents determined that it concerned an artist of no importance.

Details of the affair first hit the art-dealing community through the social networking site The Marker Cafe. From a conversation with a source close to the affair, it seems that after Hava Melnikov-Gabai − the sculptor’s daughter and sole heir − was hospitalized, the contents of the suitcase were divided up and scattered among various dealers at the price of NIS 100 per box.

It is not known what will happen to the few sculptures Melnikov left behind which were kept in his daughter’s apartment. Insofar as is known, this is a matter of 11 sculptures that are presently in the care of the custodian general.
‘Restoring Melnikov’s honor’
Zach, who was friendly with Melnikov’s daughter, devoted an entire chapter of his book “From Year to Year It: Literary Biography” ‏(Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 2009‏) to the sculptor. Years earlier, he organized a large exhibition of the Melnikov’s works at Haifa University.
Melnikov-Gabai, who is now in her 80s, is also the niece of the artist known as Had Gadya, the first woman to study at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design. Avraham Melnikov lived in London for 15 years until 1959. His estate was passed from hand to hand, as described in Zach’s book; when in the possession of the Acre municipality, it was apparently stored in appalling conditions.

The fate of Melnikov’s works “faithfully represents the state of Israel’s attitude toward its creative people, poets, writers and artists − it has treated at least some of them as though they did not exist for it at all,” wrote Zach in the book.

“My interest is in restoring Melnikov’s lost honor, without any dealers getting involved, so that a museum will hold an exhibition of his works,” Zach added this week. “I heard that an important museum is planning to exhibit the artwork without the usual wars between the dealers. When I was writing the chapter on Melnikov in my book, I never imagined that the issue would conclude even worse than I’d thought. This isn’t a matter for dealers. You don’t deal in the works of the pioneer of Israeli sculpture.”

No response from the custodian general on the handling of Melnikov’s archive and sculptures was received by press time.