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Irving Amen began drawing at the age of four. A scholarship to the Pratt Institute was awarded to him when he was fourteen years old. In 1953, Amen traveled throughout Italy. This resulted in a series of eleven woodcuts, eight etchings and a number of oil paintings. One of these woodcuts, 'Piazza San Marco #4' and its four woodblocks constitute a permanent exhibit of block printing in colour at the Smithsonian Institution. In 1974 he illustrated 'The epic of Gilgamesh' in linocuts and woodcuts for the Limited Editioned Club. He designed a set of stained glass windows depicting the Twelve Tribes of Israel for Agudas Achim Synagogue in Bexley, Ohio. His work often depicts themes of Judaism, chess, people, music, Italy and Don Quixote. In his later years he lived and worked in Boca Raton, Fl. His work is widely collected and held in many prominent pubic collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Metropolitan Museum of art, New York; and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.