{{short description|Israeli sculptor (1900–1992)}} {{Infobox person | name = Batia Lishansky | native_name = בתיה לישנסקי | image = Lishansky talphir.jpg | alt = | caption = Batia Lishansky (1920) | birth_date = {{Birth-year|1900}} | birth_place = [[Malyn]], [[Russian Empire]] | death_date = {{Death year and age|1992|1900}} | death_place = [[Tel Aviv]], [[Israel]] | citizenship = Israel | occupation = Sculptor | notable_works = {{ubl| Commemorating the Fallen (Kfar Yehoshua, Beit Keshet, Kadoorie Agricultural Village) | From Holocaust to Revival (Netzer Sereni) }} | awards = {{ubl| [[Dizengoff Prize]] (1944, 1957) | [[Israel Prize]] (1986) }} }} [[File:תמונה 1202.jpg|thumb|Holocaust memorial at [[Netzer Sereni]]]] '''Batia Lishansky''', also '''Batya''', '''Batyah'''; '''Lichanski''', '''Lishanski''', ({{Langx|he|בתיה לישנסקי}}; 1900–1992) was a Russian-born pioneering Israeli sculptor. Working with stone, wood and bronze, she created portraits and memorials commemorating the people and events of the early years of the [[Israel|State of Israel]]. Her many busts portray cultural and political figures as well as members of her family while her monumental memorials are dedicated to those who were killed in the [[1947–1949 Palestine war|War of Independence]]. Many of her works can be seen in the permanent exhibition at the Shomer Museum in [[Kfar Giladi]].<ref name=jwa>{{cite web|url=https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/lichansky-batia|title=Batia Lichansky|author=Brutin, Batya|publisher=Jewish Women's Archive|accessdate= |language=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/lishansky-batya|title=Lishansky, Batya|publisher=Encyclopedia.com: Encyclopaedia Judaica|accessdate=3 October 2020 |language=}}</ref><ref name=icia>{{cite web|url=https://museum.imj.org.il/artcenter/newsite/en/?artist=Lishansky,%20Batia&list=L|title=Batia Lishansky|publisher=Information Center for Israeli Art|accessdate=3 October 2020 |language=}}</ref>
==Biography== Born in [[Malyn]], Russian Empire, in 1900, Batia Lishansky was the youngest of the four daughters of Shoshanna (1865–1944) and Meir Yonah Lishansky (1862–1942). Her older sisters were [[Rachel Yanait Ben-Zvi|Rachel Lishansky]], an author and educator who would become the wife of the second [[President of Israel]], [[Yitzhak Ben-Zvi]]; Tamar Lishansky, a doctor; and [[Sarah Lishansky]], founder of the first clinic of [[Clalit Health Services]].
After [[aliyah|immigrating]] to [[Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem|Palestine]] with her mother in 1910, she studied for a year at the [[Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design|Bezalel Institute]] under [[Boris Schatz]]. She then spent a period at the [[Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma|Rome Academy of Fine Arts]] but returned to Palestine in 1921, settling at the [[Ein Harod]] kibbutz and exhibiting her early wood sculptures. In 1923, she went to [[Berlin]] where she studied for three years before spending a further three years at the [[Académie des Beaux-Arts|Academy of Painting and Sculpture]] in [[Paris]]. She returned to Palestine in 1929.<ref name=jwa/><ref name=markus>{{cite web|url=https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/artists-yishuv-and-israel-1920-1970|title=Artists: Yishuv and Israel: 1920-1970|author=Markus, Ruth|publisher=Jewish Women's Archive|date=27 February 2009|accessdate=3 October 2020 |language=}}</ref>
Batia Lishansky died in [[Tel Aviv]] in 1992.<ref name=jwa/>
==Art career== In a style ranging from expressiveness to realism, her early works were influenced by [[Auguste Rodin]] and [[Camille Claudel]].<ref name=markus/> Among the hundreds of busts she created of historic Israeli figures are those of prime ministers [[David Ben-Gurion]], [[Menahem Begin]] and [[Golda Meir]]. However, she is known above all for her memorials, including ''Commemorating the Fallen'' for those who died in the War of Independence (1947–1949). Depicting heroism and comradeship, the series of three can be found at [[Kfar Yehoshua]], [[Beit Keshet]] and [[Kadoorie Agricultural High School|Kadoorie Agricultural Village]]. Her memorial "From Holocaust to Revival" is located at [[Netzer Sereni]].<ref name=jwa/><ref name=icia/>
==Awards and recognition== Lishansky received the [[Dizengoff Prize]] for her contributions to sculpture on two occasions: in 1944 and 1957. In 1986, she was honoured with the [[Israel Prize]] for Lifework in Sculpture.<ref name=icia/>
== Personal life == Lishansky had been in a relationship with the female painter Annie Neumann.<ref>{{Cite book |last=צורית |first=אידה |url=https://www.google.co.il/books/edition/%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%AA_%D7%94%D7%A4%D7%A8%D7%90_%D7%94%D7%90%D7%A6%D7%99%D7%9C/CBYyAAAAMAAJ?hl=iw&gbpv=1&bsq=%D7%91%D7%AA%D7%99%D7%94+%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%A0%D7%A1%D7%A7%D7%99+%D7%90%D7%A0%D7%A0%D7%99+%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%99%D7%9E%D7%9F&dq=%D7%91%D7%AA%D7%99%D7%94+%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%A0%D7%A1%D7%A7%D7%99+%D7%90%D7%A0%D7%A0%D7%99+%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%99%D7%9E%D7%9F&printsec=frontcover |title=שירת הפרא האציל: ביוגרפיה של המשורר אבות ישורון |date=1995 |publisher=הקיבוץ המאוחד |pages=127 |language=he}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=בלבן |first=אברהם |date=2017-11-01 |title=רחוב חולדה, בתיה לישנסקי, אפרים צ'יזיק |url=https://www.haaretz.co.il/literature/tarbut-sifrot/tlvlist/2017-11-01/ty-article/.premium/0000017f-ef6f-dc28-a17f-ff7f76480000 |access-date=2025-08-14 |website=Haaretz הארץ |language=he}}</ref>
==See also== *[[Visual arts in Israel]] *[[Women of Israel]]
==References== {{commons category|Batia Lichansky}} {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lishansky, Batia}} [[Category:1900 births]] [[Category:1992 deaths]] [[Category:People from Malyn]] [[Category:20th-century Israeli sculptors]] [[Category:Israel Prize in sculpture recipients]] [[Category:Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the Ottoman Empire]] [[Category:20th-century Israeli women sculptors]] [[Category:Jews from the Russian Empire]] [[Category:Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design alumni]] [[Category:Jewish Israeli sculptors]] [[Category:Immigrants of the Second Aliyah]] [[Category:Israeli LGBTQ sculptors]] [[Category:LGBTQ Jews]] [[Category:Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium alumni]]