The Museum is excited to announce that Crist’s office will borrow four portraits and three prints from our collection starting in April. March 25, 2020 [St. Petersburg, FL] — The Florida Holocaust Museum will loan seven artworks to Charlie Crist’s office starting April 1, including four portraits and three prints from our collection. The portraits are from our exhibition, Fragments: Portraits of Survivors. The photographs are just a moment – a fragment of a life shattered by visions too graphic to imagine. Over 60 years have passed, and now Jason Schwartz, freelance photographer from Toronto, Canada, has captured the expressions of memories of Holocaust Survivors. A sliver of time encapsulated in a photograph, and a short, personal handwritten statement of triumph accompany each. “I survived… I beat Hitler” is just one of the testimonies that speak of the indomitable human spirit. The exhibition includes 115 photographs of Survivors. The stark black and white images are reflections of time and history. Each 16 x 20 study contains a carefully worded and handwritten statement by the Survivor and captures the essence of an individual whose life was ultimately changed by WWII. The value of this precious collection is obvious. Statistics have documented the number diminish daily as a result of the frailty and age of these witnesses. The four portraits on loan include Holocaust Survivors Mary Wygodski, Marie Silverman, Walter Loebenberg, and Phil Gans. To learn more about each Survivor’s experience, click here. Crist’s office will also borrow three prints by artist Richard Heipp, titled the Germanic Guilt Symbols Print #1-3 . Heipp is a descendant of German immigrants and a professor of art at the University of Florida. The Germanic Guilt Symbols series is a group of paintings and prints started in 1988 and concluded in 1993. The major themes in this series address Heipp’s personal issues surrounding growing up in post-World War II America as a child of European immigrants of German ancestry. Heipp attempts to layer these cultural issues with metaphors and symbols surrounding political or personal security and fear. Please contact rfreeman@thefhm.org with any questions or to set up an interview with our Exhibitions Manager or Deputy Director. Please stay engaged with The FHM online through the Museum’s virtual tour, virtual resources, online curriculum, collections, Holocaust Survivor testimonies, and on its social media pages Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. About The Florida Holocaust MuseumOne of the largest Holocaust museums in the country, and one of three nationally accredited Holocaust museums, The Florida Holocaust Museum honors the memory of millions of men, women and children who suffered or died in the Holocaust. The FHM is dedicated to teaching members of all races and cultures the inherent worth and dignity of human life in order to prevent future genocides. For additional information, please visit www.TheFHM.org |