March 1, 2025

Ira Barkoff is an American artist known for his evocative landscapes that blend realism with abstraction.

Born in 1934 in Brooklyn, NY, Ira Barkoff’s journey as an artist began early, drawing seriously by the age of nine. At 13, he attended life drawing classes at the Brooklyn Museum, later earning a BFA from Pratt Institute and continuing his studies at the Art Students League in New York City.

His paintings exist between realism and abstraction, serving as layered responses to his emotional connection with nature. While they may evoke familiar landscapes, they are not literal depictions of a specific place but rather spiritual interpretations of the natural world. Barkoff seeks to transcend outward appearances, capturing something deeper and more elusive—an essence that resonates beyond what the eye perceives.

Now painting primarily from imagination, he creates landscapes that merge the external world with an inner vision. A stand of trees, a shifting sky, or a single falling leaf becomes a metaphor for something greater—an expression of the soul’s connection to nature.

Barkoff’s work has been exhibited in galleries nationwide, including the New Britain Museum and the permanent collection of the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury, CT. He is currently represented by Cavalier Ebanks Gallery in Greenwich, New York City, Nantucket, and Palm Beach, as well as Canfin Gallery. He has also exhibited at the Washington Art Association in Washington, CT, where he has taught oil painting for many years.