Collections: Samuel Bak
Samuel Bak was born in 1933 in Vilna, Poland (today Vilnius, Lithuania). He began drawing at the age of three and was
soon recognized as a child prodigy. At the age of nine, he had his own exhibition in the Vilna Ghetto. His father and
grandparents perished in the Holocaust. Bak and his mother survived. Since liberation in 1944, he has produced
artworks addressing many themes, often related to his boyhood experiences. He has earned an international reputation
for his work which which encompasses thought-provoking images and raises challenging questions about human behavior, the
Holocaust, and genocidal acts in the post-Holocaust decades. He acknowledges that his work produces many questions that
he does not answer, but rather encourages his viewers to grapple with these questions.
On Jacob’s Mount, 2006
Oil on canvas
Florida Holocaust Museum, gift of the artist and the Pucker Gallery in honor of Roz Barnett and Nat Durlach
(not currently on view)
On Yona’s Place, 2006
Charcoal and oil on paper
Florida Holocaust Museum, gift of the artist and the Pucker Gallery in honor of Rimantas Stankevicius
(not currently on view)
To the Gate, 2006
Oil on canvas
Florida Holocaust Museum
(not currently on view)
One Child Island, 2006
Oil on canvas
Florida Holocaust Museum
(not currently on view)