Sorel Etrog, (August 29, 1933 February 26, 2014) was a Romanian-born Israeli-Canadian artist, writer, and philosopher best known for his work as a sculptor. He specialised in modern art works and contemporary sculpture. Etrog's works explore his first-hand experience of the Second World War; the renewal of sculptural traditions in modern art, such as the use of bronze as a medium; and the opposition between the mechanical and the organic. One of Canada's leading artists in the 1960s, Etrog contributed to the country's growing interest in sculpture. Life Born in Iaşi, Romania, in 1933, Etrog's formal art training began in 1945. In 1950, his family immigrated to Israel, where beginning in 1953 he studied at the Institute of Painting and Sculpture in Tel Aviv. His first solo exhibition in Tel Aviv in 1958 earned him a scholarship at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York City (1958-1963). In 1959, a meeting with Toronto art collector Samuel Zacks led to Etrog's first Canadian solo exhibition, at Gallery Moos in Toronto. Leaving New York for Toronto in 1963, Etrog became a Canadian citizen. After moving to Florence in 1965, he began casting his sculptures at the Michelucci Foundry, in Pistoia, and would continue to do so for the rest of his career. During this time, Etrog frequently visited his family in Israel. On one of his trips he met his future wife, Lika Behar, a fashion designer, who moved to Florence to live with him. However, a car accident that left Etrog badly injured led him and Behar to leave Florence in 1967 and move to Toronto, where they married. Career Since the late 1950s, Etrog's work has been exhibited extensively in solo and group exhibitions across Canada and internationally. Etrog's work is represented in major capitals and cities all over the world. He received several important commissions, including those for Expo 67, Montreal; SunLife Centre, Toronto; Windsor Sculpture Garden, Windsor, Ontario; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and Olympic Park in Seoul, South Korea. His commission for the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, entitled Powersoul, is his largest work. In 1966, works by Etrog, along with those of Alex Colville and Yves Gaucher, represented Canada at the Venice Biennale. In 1968 Etrog was commissioned to design the Canadian Film Award that was originally named the "Etrog" and later renamed the "Genie". Etrog is also known for his writings and published