ST. PETERSBURG, FL - June 11, 2013/ - A few years ago, the Florida Holocaust Museum accessioned a painting by Social Realist Emanuel Glicen Romano (1897 – 1984), entitled "War Scene," which was donated by Jeff and Katrina Hess. It has been rotated into their exhibition space in the past, but the Museum has just announced that they will be spotlighting this important piece, alongside twenty contemporary artworks with subject matter related to the Holocaust and other genocides. The exhibition, called "There is No Why Here," is scheduled to run from July 6, 2013 until September 7, 2013.
A truly multi-national artist, Glicen Romano was born Emanuel Glicenstein in Rome, but spent his formative years throughout Europe, in Germany, England, Poland and Switzerland. After emigrating to America in 1926, he changed his name Emanuel Glicen Romano, to distinguish himself from his father, a known sculptor named Enrico Glicenstein. In 1936, Romano began creating murals for the Federal Art Program of the Works Progress Administration. A few years later, and immediately following World War II, he created a series of allegorical works with graphic images of the Holocaust. Two of the pieces in this series were purchased by Hess Fine Art from an estate of the artist's family.
Jeffery and Katrina Hess have a long history of supporting local institutions, and according to Mr. Hess, "War Scene" seemed like a perfect fit for the Florida Holocaust Museum's collection. The Hesses felt donating the canvas rather than auctioning it was the right thing to do for the community, and to showcase the work in the best historical context. Since Romano's paintings have the distinction of being found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Boston Fine Arts Museum, the Fogg Museum, and the Musée Nacional de France, this is a particularly important artist to be found in a St. Petersburg museum.
The upcoming exhibition will be shown the Florida Holocaust Museum's Larry Wasser Gallery. The Museum is located at 55 Fifth Street South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, is open daily from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., and closed on major holidays. Hess Fine Art, division of Hess Fine Auctions, is located at 1121 4th Street North, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701, and can be reached by phone at 727-896-0622.
Posted on Shalom Adventure by: Jeff Zaremsky
