Rachel Stern2024-10-22T08:20:46-04:00August 12th, 2024|Exhibitions|
The late Expressionist artist Fritz Ascher (1893-1970) survived two world wars and persecution by the National Socialist regime. A close observer of the horrors of World War I and revolutionary unrest, he turned to Christian spiritual themes, which he radically reinterpreted. In intimate drawings, he dealt with the theme of love and betrayal from 1916 onward, both in his exploration of the crucifixion theme and with the figure of Bajazzo in the tragicomic opera "I Pagliacci." Ascher's strong and unique artistic voice is evident not only in his paintings, but also in his poems. These were written when he was no longer allowed to work under National Socialism because of his Jewish roots and as a representative of modernism, [...]
Rachel Stern2024-08-13T08:58:22-04:00July 31st, 2024|Newsletter|
Dear Friends, With the Olympic Games going on, I can't resist to share with you Fritz Ascher's drawing of two muscular male nudes wrestling. The drawing will be on view for the first time in the exhibition "Love and Betrayal. The Expressionist Fritz Ascher in New York Private Collections," which will open on November 8th at Haus der Graphischen Sammlung in Freiburg (Germany). Fritz Ascher, Two Male Nudes Wrestling, ca. 1916. Graphite and charcoal on paper, 29 x 22,8 cm. Private Collection This sheet is one of several works in which the artist depicts fighters around 1916. As a sport, wrestling experienced its Golden Age in Germany and Europe at the beginning of the 20th century. This [...]
Rachel Stern2024-08-11T05:49:52-04:00July 3rd, 2024|Newsletter|
Dear Friends, This month, we have two very special online programs for you before we take a short summer break in August. But first of all, we are excited to share with you our 2023 program report (please click on the image): PROGRAM REPORT 2023 Still hurting from the aftermath of COVID, we are proud of the exhibitions and programs we were able to organize in 2023, and your feedback proves that we are doing something right. But we need your help. This summer, we aim to raise $6,000.00 to support our virtual fall programming. This year is the 10th anniversary of The Fritz Ascher Society. If you want to honor this momentous occasion [...]
Rachel Stern2024-05-30T10:22:55-04:00May 30th, 2024|Newsletter|
We have a special film for you, and you don't even have to leave your house to see it! Watch the film THE WILD ONE before June 5th on your home device. A link will be provided to all who register. Then join us as Chantal Perrin, the film’s French producer, speaks with Ori Z Soltes from Georgetown University in Washington DC. A link will be provided to all who register: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, ONLINE From Auschwitz to Hollywood: Jack Garfein, “THE WILD ONE” Film Screening and Conversation with French producer Chantal Perrin REGISTRATION FOR FREE FILM SCREENING AND ONLINE FILM DISCUSSION THE WILD ONE illuminates the journey of unsung artist Jack Garfein [...]
Rachel Stern2024-05-30T10:01:32-04:00May 1st, 2024|Newsletter|
May is American Jewish Heritage Month, and in our virtual series “Flight or Fight. stories of artists under repression” we are discussing two fabulous artists, who both immigrated to the United States and lived in New York. Please note the unusual 7:00pm EST time of the first event, which accommodates the Hong Kong time zone of one of our speakers. I hope that you'll be comfortable by now to register for events via our new system. Please be aware that all virtual events are FREE OF CHARGE. However, we very much appreciate each and every donation. WEDNESDAY, May 8 ONLINE 7:00 PM EST "Let's Talk Interesting People:" THE STORY OF ERNA FRIEDLÄNDER (1890-1979) REGISTER FOR THIS ONLINE [...]
Rachel Stern2024-04-02T18:31:46-04:00March 28th, 2024|Newsletter|
Finally it's spring, and with it comes the energy of renewal and hope. At the Fritz Ascher Society, we have installed a new system to register for events. Hoping it will work flawlessly, I ask you to be kind and patient if it doesn't. Next week, we will hear National Jewish Book Award winner Benjamin Balint in conversation with Georgetown University Professor Ori Z Soltes: WEDNESDAY, April 3 ONLINE 12:00 PM EDT BRUNO SCHULZ (1892-1942): An Artist, a Murder, and the Hijacking of History REGISTER FOR THIS ONLINE EVENT HERE Bruno Schulz, ‘The Enchanted Town II,’ 1920-1922. Bruno Schulz is renowned as a master of twentieth-century imaginative fiction. Isaac Bashevis Singer called him “one [...]
Rachel Stern2024-03-05T11:31:35-05:00March 1st, 2024|Newsletter|
Happy March! This month, we are looking forward to three fabulous events. Please join us on March 18 at Fordham University in New York to celebrate the book launch of Welcoming the Stranger. Abrahamic Traditions and Contemporary Implications, or join us via livestream. Online, we'll learn about two artists well respected in their time, and recently re-discovered. Please safe March 27, 12:00pm ET for an unbelievable art mystery that is a developing story. Stay tuned! Next week, we'll focus on Rahel Szalit, who will be recognized in a forthcoming book publication. Hear author Kerry Wallach: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6 ONLINE 12:00 PM EST ”TRACES OF A JEWISH ARTIST: THE LOST LIFE AND WORK OF RAHEL SZALIT (1888-1942) REGISTER [...]
Rachel Stern2024-02-14T15:19:09-05:00February 1st, 2024|Events, Lectures, Past Events|
In this program Georgetown University professor and author, Ori Z Soltes, explores Marc Klionsky's life and work, in part through conversation with his daughter, the scholar and artist, Nadia Klionsky. Image above: Marc Klionsky, Dizzie Gillespie: The Man and his Trumpet, 1988. Oil on canvas, 52 x 66 inches. National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC. This exciting program features the paintings of Marc Klionsky (1927–2017). Born in the Soviet Union, Klionsky managed to navigate what has been called a “two-world condition”—creating the particularized Soviet Socialist Realist work that was acceptable to the Stalinist and post-Stalinist State while allowing his soul to reveal itself in work that only a very few trusted viewers might see. As [...]
Rachel Stern2024-02-27T06:14:25-05:00February 1st, 2024|Newsletter|
Is this the month of love, just because Valentine's Day is on the 14th? Let's just make it about love - love for those who are marginalized and persecuted, and those who have to leave their home to save their lives, and find a new home, some even multiple times during their lifetime. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14 ONLINE 12:00 PM EST ”THE ART OF MARC KLIONSKY: Shaping a Three-World Condition from Minsk to New York" REGISTER FOR THIS ONLINE EVENT HERE In this event Georgetown University professor and author, Ori Z Soltes, will explore the life and work of Marc Klionsky (1927–2017), in part through conversation with his daughter, the scholar and artist, Nadia Klionsky. [...]
Rachel Stern2024-01-24T06:51:51-05:00January 12th, 2024|Newsletter|
We hope that 2024 started well for you. This is our 10th anniversary year, and we are planning many stimulating and thought provoking events and programs, and even two publications to celebrate this milestone. On Friday, January 27, is the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau by the Red Army in 1945. We commemorate this date as the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Leading up to that day, we invite you to once again participate in #EVERYNAMECOUNTS. DATAENTRY CHALLENGE #EVERYNAMECOUNTS The Arolsen Archives are working on the world’s most comprehensive online archive of the people who were persecuted and murdered by the National Socialists. Join us for the third year in recording names and paths [...]
Rachel Stern2024-01-24T06:16:58-05:00December 22nd, 2023|Newsletter|
In 1901, the eight-year-old German-Jewish artist Fritz Ascher (Berlin, 1893-1970) drew mother and son negotiating the purchase of a Christmas tree. This is the first known artwork by the artist, which he sketched in graphite and then executed in ink on paper. Fritz Ascher, Winter Scene, 1901. Graphite and black ink on paper, 13.8 x 10.4 inches. Copyright Bianca Stock Find out more about Fritz Ascher in our short biographical film: WATCH "FRITZ ASCHER, EXPRESSIONIST (1893-1970)" Some years later, around 1913, Fritz Ascher draws a conductor on the verso of that same sheet of paper. The caricature shows Ascher’s tenderness and admiration: music, especially Beethoven’s music, accompanied him wherever [...]
Rachel Stern2024-01-24T05:48:25-05:00November 28th, 2023|Newsletter|
#GivingTuesday is here — a 24-hour period of global giving to non-profits! You know what we do, and you know how clear the importance of fact-based historical context has become. And we’ll step up our work telling untold stories of marginalized artists persecuted by the German regime 1933-1945 — a time of societal and political challenges that very much resonates with today’s challenges. Start this day of giving by making your donation to support our virtual programs that you enjoy! DONATE TODAY Fleeing Nazi persecution, he came to Australia. Not as a free man like the photographer Horst Eisfelder, but as a British deportee on the Dunera, heading for the internment camps at Hay in New [...]
