Jack Savitsky (1910 – 1991)

Works for sale by Jack Savitsky  

Jack's life was spent in the Pennsylvania Coal Mines. His mining career started in the 6th grade when, in order to earn a living, young Jack was forced by circumstance to halt his education and take up a pick, shovel, and carbide lamp. After a long and hard life as a miner, Jack’s mine closed in 1959. At the suggestion of his son, Jack started to paint. Sterling Strauser took notice of Jack and by 1961 Strauser was promoting Jack's work.

With so many years spent in the mines, Jack was stricken with Coalworker's pneumoconiosis, commonly referred to as "Black Lung Disease". Working in oil became impossible for Jack because the fumes from the paint aggravated the disease. As a result, his works in oil are highly prized by collectors. He switched to prismacolor, pencils, and permanent markers. He would draw on anything flat : notebook paper, cereal boxes turned inside out, or any other surface that  was readily available.

His depictions of the Pennsylvania Coal Country and the culture that developed around it are national treasures.  

Works for sale by Jack Savitsky