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Sorel Etrog (1933–2014) was a Romanian Canadian Jewish artist renowned as a sculptor. Born in Iasi, Romania, Etrog’s artistic repertoire included sculptures, paintings, and drawings. His work is praised for blurring the boundaries between the figurative and the abstract.

Following the Second World War, Etrog immigrated to Israel with his family in 1950, and in 1953, he enrolled at the Institute of Painting and Sculpture in Tel Aviv. There, he studied painting, stage design, and graphic art under the tutelage of Marcel Janco, a Romanian-born Dadaist, as well as painter Moshe Mokady and art historian Eugene Kolb.

Etrog developed a unique working method known as Painted Constructions, which involved using irregularly shaped wooden objects and incorporating three-dimensional raised elements. This style bridged the gap between sculpture and painting. Influenced by European avant-garde art, specifically, the works of Kandinsky, Picasso, Miró, and Klee, Etrog’s creations explored his firsthand experiences during World War II and the revival of sculptural traditions in modern art, including the use of bronze as a medium and the contrast between what Alma Mikulinsky described as “the mechanical and the organic.”

In 1958, Etrog was awarded a scholarship to study at the Brooklyn Museum Art Institute. At this point, he received important support from Toronto-based collectors Samuel and Ayala Zacks, which convinced him to apply for Canadian citizenship, moivng to Toronto in 1963 following his studies in Brooklyn. Being exposed to works in the Zack’s collection, particularly Etruscan work and the sculpture of Henry Moore, influenced his style significantly, turning towards his organic figurative sculptural style.

In 1966, he represented Canada at the Venice Biennale, and in 1983, he was honored as a Companion of the Order of Canada, one of the country’s highest recognitions. Etrog’s public sculptures can be found in various locations across Canada, including Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Ottawa. Notable examples include Sun Life, in Toronto’s financial district, and The Hand and the Source, outside the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. Etrog continued creating and exhibiting his art until his passing in 2014.