Harry Lieberman was born in the small Polish shtetl, or Jewish village, of Gniewoszów, in the area of Eastern Europe known as the Pale of Settlement. He was raised according to the tenets of Hasidism, a populist-based, ecstatic practice of Judaism founded in the eighteenth century by the religious leader known as the Baal Shem Tov. In 1906 Lieberman immigrated to the United States, one of the many thousands of Jews fleeing the hardships and violence of Jewish life in Russian Poland. In New York City he adopted a largely secular lifestyle, working first in the textile trades and then operating a candy store on the Lower East Side with his wife, Sophie, until they retired in 1950. In 1956 Lieberman started to paint vivid and dynamic narratives drawn primarily from Jewish history, religion, lore, and literature, although some works express his views on contemporary issues. The artist wrote texts in Yiddish and attached them to the backs of his paintings.

In this painting, which portrays a Hasid and a secular Jew, Lieberman reflected on the path he followed in America. On the one hand, he found his “paradise” in the successful life he made for himself and his family and created his “hereafter” through the legacy of paintings he completed before his death at the age of 103. A close reading of this painting, on the other hand, reveals the artist’s ambivalence: the area around the secular philosopher is sere and bare of any leaves; the flower growing behind him is the only indication of a fruitful life. The Hasid, however, is surrounded by green, fertile, flowering trees and grass, and is watched by angels. As Lieberman inscribed on the back of this piece, “You got to have both in yourself, philosopher and dreamer.”

Stacy C. Hollander, "Two Dreamers," in American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001), 384.