Isaiah Zagar (born 1939) was born in Philadelphia and raised in Brooklyn. He received his B.F.A. in Painting & Graphics at the Pratt Institute of Art in New York City. When he was 19 years old, Zagar discovered the art environment of Clarence Schmidt in Woodstock, New York. This shaped his ideas of what art could be and started a lifelong interest in art environments and their creators.
Julia (Papiroff) Zagar (born 1940) was born and raised in New York City. She attended Cooper Union School of Art and then received her B.F.A. from the University of the Americas in Mexico City. Her time in Mexico sparked her lifelong interest in Latin American folk art and deep appreciation for Mexican culture.
Isaiah and Julia met in 1963, married three months later, and joined the Peace Corps as conscientious objectors to the Vietnam War. They were stationed in Peru in the Puno region near Lake Titicaca to work with local folk artists. This time set them on a path of collaboration and community that defined the rest of their lives.
When the Zagars returned stateside in 1967, Isaiah experienced a mental health crisis and attempted suicide. In his recovery he taught himself to mosaic. At the same time Julia opened the Eye’s Gallery on South Street. The Zagars lived above the store and Isaiah began to embellish the building, creating his first art environment. So began the pair’s pursuit that lasted five decades: to find more public and private spaces in order to continue making art.
In the 1970s, the Zagars joined others in transforming their South Street neighborhood. Black activists in that area had worked for years to protest the addition of the Crosstown Expressway that would have eliminated South Street. This coalition succeeded when the city cancelled the plan in 1974. At the same time, young artists and art students were moving to South Street, opening businesses, and bringing an alternative spirit and prosperity to the neighborhood. This period of artistic rebirth was called the “South Street Renaissance.”
As Isaiah continued to live with ups and downs in his mental health, he also used mosaic work as therapy. Julia provided stability and supported him with her ideas for new projects and collaborations. The couple traveled the world, buying goods for the Eye’s Gallery and meeting new artists that Isaiah enjoyed working with. Isaiah embellished his own spaces, including those the family used for homes, studios, and rental properties. He also worked on walls, small and large, throughout Philadelphia and beyond. For over 50+ years Isaiah went on to create art environments at multiple sites and more than 200 public mosaic murals. Julia continued collecting work by new artists in varied art forms, introducing them to generations of Philadelphians at the Eye’s Gallery.
Isaiah and Julia still live nearby the Magic Gardens Museum on South Street. Isaiah no longer works independently on mosaics, but he does work with PMG’s Preservation Team to create new tiles, drawings, and mosaics with their assistance. Julia continues to run the Eye’s Gallery.
In 2023 Isaiah was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. That same year Isaiah and Julia donated the Magic Gardens Studio to PMG, including artworks stored there. This ensures their legacy and work will be preserved for decades to come.
Isaiah’s work is included in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Fabric Workshop and Museum, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, and the Brandywine Workshop and Archives. He has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Pew Charitable Trusts. Isaiah participated in residences in China and India and completed mosaic commissions throughout the United States and internationally.
Julia earned a Master’s degree from the University of the Arts (formerly Philadelphia College of Art) in Community Development in 1972. She has led dozens of cultural trips throughout Latin America and India. Julia is an expert on Mexican Folk Art and has taught classes on the subject. She also has arranged for many Mexican folk artists to travel to Philadelphia to teach and participate in residencies. PMG’s Julia Zagar Residency for Women Artists was started in her honor and strives to continue her legacy of supporting artists.
The personal story of Isaiah and Julia is captured in the award-winning 2008 documentary In A Dream created by their son Jeremiah Zagar.
Find more information about Isaiah and Julia Zagar in our PDF Resource Sheet
