This lithograph by Marc Chagall is titled “The Tribe of Gad” from his JerusalemWindows series published in 1964.Chagall was a Russian artist from Belarus. He emigrated to France in 1910, just beforeWorld War I. He was a modernist who drew inspiration from dreams. His themesincorporated recollections of his early years in Russia, his native village, flying lovers,mythical creatures of folklore and legend, and a love for his adopted city of Paris. Hewas recognized as one of the foremost color lithographers of the 20th century.The lithographs in this series are some of the most important works in his oeuvre. Theyshowcased the beauty and intricacy of the actual stained glass windows he created forthe Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center in Jerusalem. In 1959 Chagall wasapproached by the President of Hadassah and the architect who designed the medicalcenter and they commissioned Chagall to create the stained glass windows for thesynagogue that was to be part of the medical center. Each of the twelve windows wouldrepresent one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Chagall worked on the project for two years,with the windows ultimately exhibited in Paris in June of 1961 and at the Museum ofModern Art in New York in the winter of 1961. In February 1962, they were permanentlyinstalled in the synagogue. The twelve tribes of Israel represented the twelve kin groupsof ancient Israel who descended from Jacob: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan,Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin. Upon Jacob’s death,the territory of Israel was divided among his twelve sons, becoming the twelve tribes ofIsrael. The complete title for the series is the Twelve Maquettes of Stained GlassWindows for Jerusalem.Signed by Chagall in the margin above the arch on the left. The overall size is28 x 24 3/8 in. wide and the sight size is 12 1/2 x 9 1/4 in. wide.