Born in 1933 in Vilna, Poland, Samuel Bak was recognized from an early age as possessing extraordinary artistic talent. As Vilna came under German occupation in 1941, Bak and his family had to move into the Vilna Ghetto. Bak and his mother escaped the destruction of the Vilna Ghetto by seeking refuge in a Benedictine convent where, with the help of a Catholic nun named Maria Mikulska, they were the only members of a large family to survive.
Naturally, Bak's work is infused with painful, dark and alienated imagery, but at times, it is also, vibrant and hopeful, lending testimony to the indomitable spirit of the man and his art.
