His passion is drawing, in pastels, the people of the world around him. His work, ranging from exquisite pastel paintings of Lubovitcher men in prayer to half naked lovers embracing, all speak to his profound ability to materialize the light, forms and colors of the human spirit. Professor Abeles studied drawing at the Art Students League prior to receiving his BA at the University of South Carolina, and his MFA at Columbia University in New York. He was tenured as the Professor of Art at the University of New Hampshire where he taught for two decades. Since 1960 he has held over seventy positions as visiting artist, lecturer or juror.
Abeles currently lives and works in New York.
Among the many professional honors received, Abeles was elected a National Academician of the National Academy of Design in New York in 1990. He has won numerous prizes, especially for his prints. He has had over 30 solo exhibitions of his work as well as participated in literally hundreds of group shows over a period of 30 years. His works are in the collections of many renowned museums and colleges including the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Museum of Modern Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Perhaps his most intimate portraits are of his tiny newborn son, Maxwell, born at two pounds, three ounces and suffering from a terrible lung disease.