us-005578-irn50039-irn513948
type: RecordSet
archival history: The painting was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1987 by Miriam Friedman Morris, the daughter of David Friedman.
biographical history: David Friedmann was born on December 20, 1893, in Mahrisch Ostrau (Ostrava, Czech Republic), part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was the son of Heinrich, a tinsmith, born in 1864 in Kobiernice, and Sophie Rosenblum, born in 1856 in Czaniec. He lived in a modest home with three surviving siblings: Marie, born in 1888, Adolf, born in 1895, and Isidor, born in 1897. In 1911, Friedmann moved to Berlin where he studied etching with Hermann Struck and painting with Lovis Corinth. During World War One, Friedmann served from 1917-1918 in the Austro-Hungarian Army. He was decorated for his work as a combat artist, creating sketches on the frontlines. Following his return to Berlin, Friedmann exhibited at numerous galleries throughout Germany and Czechoslovakia. He achieved acclaim as a painter known for his portraits drawn from life. In 1924, his quick-sketching talent resulted in a secondary career as a freelance press artist for Berlin newspapers and other publications. When Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933, Friedmann's prewar career ended. As a Jew, he was prohibited from showing his work and had to close his studio. He was able to make a living painting apartments and renovating buildings, which was permitted because of his Czechoslovak citizenship. In 1937, he married Mathilde Fuchs, born October 17, 1901, and they had a daughter, Mirjam Helene, born September 23, 1938. After the Kristallnacht pogrom on November 9-10 1938, Friedmann and his wife, with their infant child, fled from Berlin to Prague. On March 15, 1939, German forces marched into Prague and annexed the region to the Third Reich. Friedmann created portraits of the governing officials and leading members of the Jewish Community of Prague, such as Jakob Edelstein and František Zelenka. On October 16, 1941, Friedmann and his family were deported on the first transport from Prague to the Łódź Ghetto, renamed Litzmannstadt, in German occupied Poland. The Germans controlled the large Ghetto population …
physical characteristics and technical requirements: Tempera painting on light brown paper depicting a young woman resting on a mattress painted with strong, visible brushstrokes in shades of muted browns. She lies on her left side, with her knees bent, her body shaping the mattress below her. The highlights, color shadings and folds of her dress stand out from the smooth mattress and walls. Her body curves diagonally across the middle ground. Her face and outstretched arm are illuminated and draw the viewer's attention to where they slant downward on the left. Her head and right arm rest on a pillow. The hand hangs over the edge, fingers out of frame. Her wavy, chin length hair is pinned back with a white barrette and her dark eyes are open but unfocused. She wears a short sleeved. light brown, creased dress and shoes. The background blends from light to dark blues and purples. The artist’s signature and date are in the lower left corner. There are pinholes on the left and side edges. The reverse has inscribed numbers and text, a partial circular ink stamp, tape, and adhesive residue. back, top edge, black and blue wax pencil : 60x 40 / [illegible] / ć.32 / h .y. back, top left edge, partial mark, stamped seal, purple ink : Frant. Sem(bdner) - PRAHA XI. Bořivojo(va 68. - tel. 36895) / stálý přisežný sou(dní znalec) / vešker(é) / výtva(rné) / um(ění) / ak. malíř (a grafík) [Frant.(išek) Sembdner - PRAHA XI., Bořivojova 68. - tel. 36895 / fine arts of all kinds / permanent sworn court expert / ac(ademic) painter and graphic artist]
conditions of use: Copyright Holder: Ms. Miriam F. Morris
date: 1941 October-1944 August
has beginning date: 1946-01-01
has end date: 1946-12-31
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 1
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn513948
is or was included in: us-005578-irn50039
record resource extent: overall: Height: 15.625 inches (39.688 cm) | Width: 22.500 inches (57.15 cm)
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: Oil painting created by David Friedmann (from 1960, Friedman) in 1946 after his return to Prague. It depicts a scene in the Łódź Ghetto, where he was incarcerated from October 1941 until his deportation to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in late August 1944.. It is a portrait in muted browns of a young woman resting on a bed. The model was Friedmann's second wife, Hildegard Taussig. David Friedmann was a successful painter and graphic artist who lived in Berlin from 1911-1938. He was renowned for his portraits drawn from life and became a leading press artist of the 1920’s. In 1933, his prewar career abruptly ended with the establishment of the Nazi dictatorship. In December 1938, he escaped to Prague with his wife, Mathilde, and infant daughter, Mirjam Helene. In October 1941, they were deported to the Jewish Ghetto in Łódź, Poland. In late August 1944, the family was separated and sent to Auschwitz death camp, where his wife and child were murdered. He was sent to the subcamp Gleiwitz I, because musicians were sought for a camp orchestra, but Friedmann’s life was saved because of his painting and quick-sketching portrait abilities. The camp was evacuated due to approaching Soviet forces. The inmates were forced on a death march to Blechhammer, where Friedmann was liberated by the Red Army in January 1945. He journeyed to Poland and stayed in Krakow until the war ended in early May 1945. He then returned to Prague and painted the scenes that haunted his memory to show the world and give voice to those who could not be heard. In January 1946, he had his first exhibition of his Holocaust artwork. Friedmann and his second wife, Hildegard, a fellow concentration camp survivor, fled the Stalinist Communists for Israel in 1949. They had a daughter also named Miriam, and the family moved to the United States in 1954.
title: Autobiographical painting by David Friedman of a woman in a brown dress resting on a bed