US EditionIsaiah Zagar, Mosaic Artist Who Created Philadelphia's Magic Gardens, Dies at Age 86
Isaiah Zagar created over 50,000 square feet of mosaics across Philadelphia, founding Magic Gardens and transforming South Street with his unique art style.
- On Thursday, Isaiah Zagar, 86, the South Philadelphia mosaic artist and founder of Philadelphia's Magic Gardens, died at home from complications of heart failure and Parkinson's disease.
- Zagar returned to Philadelphia in 1968 with his wife Julia Zagar after Peace Corps service in Peru, and they founded Eye's Gallery at 402 South Street focusing on Latin American folk art.
- His mosaics employed broken glass and mirrors, using found objects like broken bottles, tiles, and bicycle wheels to create hundreds of public mosaics along South Street; his Watkins Street studio opened to the public in 2024.
- The nonprofit said it will announce a public memorial, noting the Philadelphia Magic Gardens draws thousands of South Street visitors annually while some mosaics faced threats and salvage after The Painted Bride Art Center building demolition.
- Colleagues said Isaiah Zagar left an enduring legacy with work that has `left an everlasting mark on our city`, and he is survived by his wife Julia and two sons, including filmmaker Jeremiah Zagar.
39 Articles
39 Articles
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Isaiah Zagar, renowned Jewish mosaic artist who created Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens, dies at 86
Isaiah Zagar, the famed Jewish mosaic artist whose shimmering, kaleidoscopic installations transformed streets and buildings across Philadelphia and founded the city’s Magic Gardens, has died. Zagar died on Thursday of complications from heart failure and Parkinson’s disease at his home in Philadelphia. He was 86. “The scale of Isaiah Zagar’s body of work and his relentless artmaking at all costs is truly astounding,” Emily Smith, the executive …
The American artist is one of the most famous Mosaïsts in the world.
Associated Press News
Mosaic artist Isaiah Zagar, who created mirrored dreamscapes across Philadelphia, dies at 86
Philadelphia mosaic artist Isaiah Zagar has died at age 86. Zagar, who died Thursday, is known for creating hundreds of mirrored dreamscapes across the city, many of them on his beloved South Street.
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