Yeshayau Sheinfeld (Scheinfeld) (1909–1979) was an Israeli painter and industrialist who is listed as one of the Founders and Builders of Israel. He was born in Bassarabia and in 1929 he came to the stark presence of the Mandate Palestine. He first reside in Magdiel but in 1941 left to the neighborhood of Petach Tikva where he found employment as a stone cutter and a road worker. In 1947 he established his own stone cutting factory which for days became one of the biggest quarries in Israel, producing thousands of tons of aggregates daily to the Israeli construction and road industry.
It was only in 1969 when the sixty years old Scheinfeld first took up a brush and applied color to paper. In his first year, unwilling to reveal the need for self-expression, Scheinfeld worked surreptitiously in the early mornings or late nights - when no one was about.
Just a year later, in 1970, after a successful group exhibition in the Tel-Aviv Museum of Art, it became clear that Scheinfeld is one of the striking artists to figure in the local Naïve Self Taught art. Although his usual subject matter was the scenery of the land of Israel, Scheinfeld introduced the landscape using a mosaic pattern, something that had become his unique artistic signature. While Scheinfeld’s favorite mediums were tempera and ink on board, he also worked in various other mediums including acrylic on canvas and board, etching with hand painted colors, mixed media collage and even weaving.
Between 1971 and 1975 Scheinfeld has gained a wide international recognition and his artworks have been exhibited not only in Israel, but also around Europe and North and South America. In 1975 Scheinfeld’s colorful pen and ink artwork ‘Aqueduct’ was awarded to feature in UNICEF’s New Year Round collection.
Although Scheinfeld had only a short ten-year career as an artist, in 2004 he was awarded by INSITA, the International Triennial congress of the Naïve self-thought Art, to be one of the four exceptional artists who played a major role in the international context of 20th century art.
Petach-Tikva Museum of Art, Petach-Tikva, IsraelThe President's Residence, Jerusalem, IsraelStadshof Nijmegen, The NetherlandsSlovak National Gallery, Bratislava, SlovakiaMusee d’Art spontane, Bruxelles, BelgiumMusea Oost-Vlaanderen in Evolutie (MovE) Gent, BelgiumMuseum of La Creation Franche Begles, FranceThe Magnes Collection of Jewish art and life, Berkeley University of California, United StatesGallery of International Naive Art (GINA), Tel Aviv, IsraelYad-Lebanim Museum, Petach Tikva, IsraelTel-Aviv Museum of Art, Tel-Aviv, IsraelMunicipal Museum, Holon, IsraelIsrael-America Cultural Foundation, New York, USAThe Union of American Hebrew Congregations, New York, USAGallery La Boetle, New York, USAThe Naive Art Gallery, New York, USAThe Great Neck Library, New York, USATraklin Gallery, Haifa, IsraelBen Yehuda Gallery, Tel Aviv, IsraelThe Naïve Art Gallery, São Paulo, BrazilThe Magnes Collection of Jewish art and life, Berkeley USAQueens County Art & Cultural Center, New York, USAIle Mostra Internazionale dei Naifs Contemporanei, Lugano, SwitzerlandGreat Neck Library, New York, USAWeizmann Institute of Science, Rechovot, IsraelYad-Lebanim Museum, Petach Tikva, IsraelGumprecht Gallery, Hamburg, GermanyRegard Gallery, Lyon, FranceBen Uri Museum, London, UKUNICEF’s Year Round collection, The United Nations NY, USARunhof Gallery, Düsseldorf, GermanyFrance TV art expo (French public national TV), Paris, FranceSara Bar Gallery, Los Angeles, USAYad-Lebanim Museum, Petach Tikva, IsraelCanada-Israel Cultural Foundation, Montreal, CanadaThe Museum of Modern Art, Haifa, IsraelDelson Richter Gallery, Tel Aviv, IsraelPetach Tikva Museum of Art, "In memory of J. Scheinfeld", Petach Tikva, IsraelRein C G Galleries, Minneapolis, USAThe Museum of Modern Art, Haifa, IsraelGalerie de Oogappel, Haarlem, the NetherlandsGalerie Hamer, Amsterdam, the NetherlandsGalerie Hamer, Amsterdam, the NetherlandsGalerie Hamer, Amsterdam, the NetherlandsGalerie Hamer, "Yeshayahu Scheinfeld", Amsterdam, the NetherlandsGalerie Hamer, "Naieven Outsiders", Amsterdam, the NetherlandsSlovak National Gallery, INSITA 2004, Bratislava, SlovakiaPetach Tikva Museum of Art, "Petting Corner", Petach Tikva, IsraelMonart Art Museum, Ashdod, IsraelSlovak National Gallery, INSITA 2007, Bratislava, SlovakiaPetach Tikva Museum of Art, "Etchings, Scratches and Scars- Changing Representations of the Israeli Soldier", Petach Tikva, IsraelKunsthaus Kannen, "Magic Arquitecture", Münster, GermanyMusée d'art spontané, "Visions Orientales Exposition d'Adib Fattal et Yeshayahu Scheinfeld", Brussels, BelgiumPetach Tikva Museum of Art, "Sea, Sail & a Boat", Petach Tikva, IsraelPetach Tikva Museum of Art, "Fracture", Petach Tikva, IsraelPetach Tikva Museum of Art, "Urban Legend", Petach Tikva, Israel