Born somewhere in Eastern Europe (Russia or Romania depending on your source), Nahum Gutman moved to Israel well before it was a state.  

After fighting for the Jewish Legion in the first world war, he decided to go study at the Herzlia Gymnasium in Tel Aviv and then Bezalel in Jerusalem.  Being the rebel that he was, his studies didn’t last long.  He wasn’t a political rebel per se; he was against the Westernization and modernization of art.  By going against the mainstream and creating his own unique style, he heavily influenced Israeli art for years to come (though hopefully they dropped his early habit of exoticizing Arabs).

Gutman’s work can be seen all around Israel.  He portrayed the history of Tel Aviv in the western wing of the Shalom Tower and Chief Rabbinate Building, has a mosaic near his old school in Herzlia, and wrote and illustrated many children’s books.

Gutman became such an influential artist in Israel that students at the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts created an exhibit in his honor, doing their best to embrace his style.  It then received a scathing review from Haaretz.com because kids ruin everything.