Lot Essay
Zeev Rechter was born in the Ukraine and emigrated to Israel in 1919, settling in Tel Aviv, where he trained and worked with local architects. His first buildings were in the eclectic, orientalist style typical of the period. Upon the completion of his studies in Paris in 1932 he returned to Israel and became one of its leading architects responsible for several of the most important early modernist buildings in Tel Aviv. His son Yaacov, depicted in this portrait with his sister Aviva Zarhi (née Rechter), followed in his footsteps and became an award winning architect. Zeev and Paula Rechter were friends of the artist Nachum Gutman, who painted and gave them this portrait of their children in 1929.