Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 18, 2026

Jonah Kinigstein

Jonah Kinigstein was an American artist known for his Expressionist paintings.

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Jonah Kinigstein
Born(1923-06-26)June 26, 1923
New York City, U.S.
DiedDecember 6, 2025(2025-12-06) (aged 102)
EducationCooper Union
Known forPainter, cartoonist
MovementExpressionism
SpouseEileen Muken
Children2

Jonah Kinigstein (June 26, 1923 – December 6, 2025) was an American artist known for his Expressionist paintings.

Early life and education

Kinigstein was born in Brooklyn, New York City, on June 26, 1923.1234 His parents were Jewish immigrants from Russia and Poland.4 As a teenager, he would use chalk to make sidewalk art.4 At times he worked with his father, a house painter.4

After high school, he attended Cooper Union.45 Before he graduated, he was drafted into the army during World War II, where he served in a photo topography unit.4

Art career

After being discharged from the army, he moved to Paris, where he attended the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, and Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma.45 He exhibited at the Galerie Huit.6

He later moved back to Manhattan.4 The rise of abstract expressionism and the loss in popularity in figurative art prevented Kinigstein from being able to paint for a living.4 He worked in commercial art, where he designed Bloomingdale's first collectible shopping bag in 1961.4 He also began drawing political cartoons criticizing abstract expressionism and the figures in the art world promoting it.4

Kinigstein continued to paint for himself. He dubbed his style "figurative expressionism", and his painting frequently depict distorted figures in front of surreal backgrounds.4 At age 99, he continued to paint for two or three hours a day in his home.4

Kinigstein's work is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art,7 the Smithsonian American Art Museum,2 and the Whitney Museum of American Art.8

Personal life and death

Kinigstein was married twice and had two children.4 His second wife is Eileen Muken.4 He turned 100 in June 2023,9 and died on December 6, 2025, at the age of 102.10

Awards

Kinigstein was the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship as well as a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation award.11

Publications

In 2014, a book of his cartoons entitled The Emperor's New Clothes: The Tower of Babel in the "Art" World was published by Fantagraphics Underground.412

In 2022, Unrepentant Artist: The Paintings of Jonah Kinigstein was published.413

References

References

  1. Who's Who in the World. Marquis Who's Who. 1970. p. 519. ISBN 9780837911014. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  2. "Jonah Kinigstein". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  3. Young America 1957. Whitney Museum of American Art. 1957. p. 45. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  4. Schuerman, Matthew (January 1, 2023). "This artist stayed figurative when art went abstract — he's finally recognized, at 99". NPR. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  5. "Jonah Kinigstein". AskArt. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  6. "Galerie Huit American Artists in Paris 1950-52 Catalog". Worthpoint. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  7. "Jonah Kinigstein MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  8. "Jonah Kinigstein". Whitney Museum of American Art. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  9. "Meet the artist who just turned 100 years old — and is finally having his moment". NPR. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  10. "Jonah Kinigstein". Legacy. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
  11. "Jonah Kinigstein". National Academy of Design. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  12. Kinigstein, Jonah (2014). The Emperor's new clothes : the Tower of Babel in the "art" world. Seattle, Washington: Fantagraphics.
  13. Kinigstein, Jonah (2022). Unrepentant artist : the paintings of Jonah Kinigstein. Seattle, WA: Fantagraphics. ISBN 9781683965411.
External links