Leon Berkowitz

Leon Berkowitz (14 September 1911 – 17 August 1987) was an American artist and educator. He is best known for his color field paintings and the series, The Unities. He co-founded the Washington Workshop Center, a gallery and school.

Berkowitz was a leading member of the art movement, the Washington Color School. Berkowitz did not like the label of, "Washington Color School" and often rejected it for his own work.

Biography Window No. 4 (1986) at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC in 2022 Leon Berkowitz was born on 14 September 1911 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to parents Yettie (née Pries) and Bernard Berkowitz. His parents were Hasidic, from Hungary. One of Berkowitz' students at the workshop was Scott Burton.

His paintings were abstract, and softly radiated colors and tones that one might found in nature.

Death and legacy Berkowitz died on 17 August 1987. His work can be found in public collections, including at Smithsonian American Art Museum, Des Moines Art Center, National Gallery of Art, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Museum of Modern Art, the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, the Wadsworth Atheneum, the High Museum of Art, and the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts.

Berkowitz' work was featured in the postmortem exhibition, Hard and Soft (2002) at ACA Galleries in New York City.