In 1968 Zaritsky was the first recipient of the Sandberg Prize of Israeli Art From the Israel Museum, the money for which was donated by an American philanthropist. Among the committee members choosing the recipient were Sandberg and Yona Fischer. This prize was awarded to him for a large "painting" he produced in 1964, based on one of the works of Johannes Vermeer. In the many interviews he granted in honor of winning the prize, Zaritsky emphasized his worldview with regard to the independence of the meaning of a painting. "The viewer must not see more in the painting than what is there," Zaritsky explained. "He must not allow his imagination to run wild with regard to what he is looking at. What he sees is what there is. The painting is not a dream."[28]
