Irving Resnikoff

He is known for the many portraits of prominent politicians and business people that he painted under commission to the art dealer Leo Fox.

[1] He was not able to make a living by selling his abstract paintings, and instead made portraits in the conventional style expected at that time.

[2] Starting in the 1950s Leo Fox began to commission Resnikoff to paint portraits of prominent Americans under the pseudonym "Charles J.

[6] Resnikoff created his portraits at Sherman Square Studios in mid Manhattan, and worked there for Fox for forty years.

[7] His niece described Resnikoff as a tall and debonair person, who “carried himself like a movie star with a mustache like Robert Taylor, a straight pipe between his teeth like Jimmy Stewart, dressed in tweeds like Fred Astaire.” In one year alone Resnikoff produced 58 portraits.

Despite his low earnings, Resnikoff was able to afford to move with his wife to an apartment near the studio, which they furnished in the modern style of the time.