Joel Iskowitz

It is with great sadness that we mourn the passing of Joel Iskowitz, who died of heart failure on April 23, 2026. Son of Larry and Belle Iskowitz, Joel was born in the Bronx on August 15, 1946. A talented artist from a young age, he went on to attend New York’s High School of Music and Art, Yale University’s fine arts program, and eventually graduated from Hunter College with his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1968. He was inducted into the Hunter College Hall of Fame in 2011.

An internationally renowned American illustrator, painter and stamp, coin and medal designer, Iskowitz designed more than 50 coins and medals for the U.S. mint, including the 2009 Lincoln bicentennial penny and the 2011 Fallen Heroes of NY Congressional gold medal. He created more than 2000 stamps for 40 different countries. Iskowitz received numerous awards for his philatelic and numismatic work, including the International Design Awards Gold Medal, a 2008 silver Medal in Corporate Illustration and a COTY nomination for most artistic coin. During his lifetime, he also served as an artist for NASA and the United States Airforce; his commemorative oil paintings of D-Day and several US space shuttle launch missions reside in the permanent collections of the Historical Association of Carenten in Normandy, France and the NASA Kennedy Space Center. His designs for the U.S. mint remain on display at the U.S. Capitol’s Emancipation Hall and in the Smithsonian, Abraham Lincoln Presidential, and New York Historical Society Museums. Known for his commitment to realist styles of portraiture and design, Iskowitz described his artistic process as a method of visual storytelling. He always began with a carefully researched attempt to seek out the personal histories of his subjects.

By his closest friends, Joel will be remembered not just by his art but by the way he lived his life. A consummate conversationalist, Joel brought his intellectual curiosity to our community and became part of the very fabric of Woodstock, long revered as an enclave for artists, musicians and intellectuals. On any given weekend, Joel might be found conversing with like-minded souls at Bread Alone. An avid tennis player, Joel found both love and community on the court. He met his beloved wife, Suzanne, at Black Acres Tennis Club in the 1980s; there and at the Woodstock Tennis Club, he formed friendships that endured throughout his lifetime. To that small circle, Joel was family—loyal and devoted, he graced our table at every holiday celebration and was there with a warm embrace for each loss or hardship. Outside of the work that formed such a core part of his identity and artistic life, Joel could often be found on long walks in the woods with his family and friends or completing the New York Times crossword puzzle in pen. Even illness could not touch Joel’s poetic character and unique way of relishing life. For those of us who knew and loved him well, it is the portrait of the artist himself that we will remember, working in his Ohayo Mountain studio, creatively striving, with paints, and his faithful labrador, Sandy at his side.

Joel is survived by his loving wife, Suzanne Coffy-Iskowitz of Woodstock, NY and his children Julia and Adam Iskowitz, of Kingston, NY. A graveside burial will be held at the Woodstock Artists’ Cemetery, 12 Mountainview Avenue, Woodstock, NY 12498 at Wednesday, April 29 2026 at 11:00AM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Woodstock Artists Association and Museum at www.woodstockart.org