Sculptor Awarded for Bust of Sadat

Dr. Maurice Hexter, executive consultant and former executive vice president of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York from 1941 to 1967, was awarded the Gold Medal by unanimous vote of the National Sculpture Society jury of awards for a larger than life-size stone bust of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. The award was presented here last night at the opening of the Society’s 46th annual exhibition which is being held in the Equitable Life Assurance Gallery at the Avenue of the Americas and 51st Street. The bust, which will be exhibited at the show until May 11, has been purchased by the Aspen (Colorado) Institute for Humanistic Studies.

Hexter, 88, a pioneer in Jewish social services, philosopher and author as well as a prolific sculptor, has created over 150 pieces since he began sculpting at the age of 60 in preparation for retirement. He has exhibited a number of times since his first one-man show at the Whitney Museum in 1971, in honor of his 80th birthday.

For over half a century, Hexter worked to rescue and resettle dispersed Jewish people and participated in discussions to establish the State of Israel. He was the first chairman of Hunter College School of Social Work, and was instrumental in setting up social work schools at Brandeis University, Yeshiva University and Hunter College. He was director of the Palestine Emergency Fund in years from 1929-1938 and testified before the Royal Committee of Inquiry (Jerusalem) in 1937 on behalf of the Jewish Agency. His book,” My Stone Age, ” published in 1973, depicts 159 sculptured pieces including a self portrait. They range from realistic heads and groupings of figures to abstracts and geometrics.