Prince Charles commissions artists to paint portraits of seven Shoah survivors

Portraits of seven Holocaust survivors painted by leading artists at the request of the Prince of Wales will be revealed later this month as part of a BBC documentary.

The hour-long ‘Survivors: Portraits of the Holocaust’ will be aired on 27 January on, featuring testimony from those who survived the Nazi genocide, as well as a look at the artists tasked with telling their stories of grief and hope.

The portraits will then be displayed at the Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, and will become part of the Royal Collection. They will go on display in the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, from March until June.

His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, who is patron of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, said: “As the number of Holocaust survivors sadly, but inevitably, declines, my abiding hope is that this special collection will act as a further guiding light for our society, reminding us not only of history’s darkest days, but of humanity’s interconnectedness as we strive to create a better world for our children, grandchildren and generations as yet unborn; one where hope is victorious over despair and love triumphs over hate.”

The survivors and the artists involved in the remarkable project are: Helen Aronson, painted by Paul Benney, Lily Ebert by Ishbel Myerscough, Manfred Goldberg, paired with Clara Dr Drummond, Arek Hersh and Massimiliano Pironti, Anita Lasker Wallfisch painted by Peter Kuhfeld, Rachel Levy with Stuart Pearson Wright, and Zigi Shipper who will be painted by Jenny Saville.

Olivia Marks-Woldman, chief executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, said:  “We are delighted that His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, our Patron, has commissioned this amazing and hugely important work. We were delighted to play a small part in facilitating elements of this wonderful project, and bring Holocaust survivors together with these wonderful artists.”

The documentary, created for Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 November, will also be aired in two parts on BBC World News on 12 and 19 February.

The announcement comes at the end of a four month run at the Imperial War Museum of an exhibition featuring photographs of survivors and their families,  included works by the Duchess of Cambridge. Jewish News initially invited the Duchess to take photos for the project, which was cultivated with the Royal Photographic Society, Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and Dangoor Education. 

Throughout January, the BBC will be broadcasting programmes to remember the Shoah, including The Windermere Children, which tells the story of ‘The Boys’; Jewish refugees who had been liberated from the camps, and re-made their lives in England.

On 23 January, the BBC Symphony Orchestra will look at art created in unimaginable conditions in camps, including  Simon Broughton introducing his 1993 film The Music of Terezín.