Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 11 hours ago
LOST AND FOUND: THE LIFE AND ART OF SAMSON SCHAMES
Opening this fall at the Center for Jewish History in New York, this landmark exhibition is the first comprehensive U.S. presentation of the work of Jewish artist Samson Schames (1898–1967).
Forced to flee Germany, Schames found an extraordinary visual language in exile – creating vivid mosaics out of rubble gathered from the bombed streets of London. These haunting works express the devastation and uncertainty of war and survive as early examples of “detritus art”—artworks made from materials typically considered waste or scraps.
Through an exploration of Schames’ life in his native Frankfurt am Main and his exiles in London and New York, LOST AND FOUND traces the development and resilience of an artist across time, space, and historical ruptures. Combining works from multiple institutions and private collections on both sides of the Atlantic, it is the first comprehensive presentation of Schames’ works in the US.
Art could never repair what Samson Schames lost, but in that loss, he sought and found both meaning and a language for expressing it.
📅 Exhibition Dates: Sept. 15 – Dec. 21, 2025
📍 Location: Center for Jewish History
15 W. 16th St., New York, NY 10011
Co-Sponsored by: Yeshiva University Museum
🔗 Don’t miss the chance to experience this extraordinary exhibition. Tickets for the opening: buff.ly/f0yuwCz
LOST AND FOUND: THE LIFE AND ART OF SAMSON SCHAMES
Opening this fall at the Center for Jewish History in New York, this landmark exhibition is the first comprehensive U.S. presentation of the work of Jewish artist Samson Schames (1898–1967).
Forced to flee Germany, Schames found an extraordinary visual language in exile – creating vivid mosaics out of rubble gathered from the bombed streets of London. These haunting works express the devastation and uncertainty of war and survive as early examples of “detritus art”—artworks made from materials typically considered waste or scraps.
Through an exploration of Schames’ life in his native Frankfurt am Main and his exiles in London and New York, LOST AND FOUND traces the development and resilience of an artist across time, space, and historical ruptures. Combining works from multiple institutions and private collections on both sides of the Atlantic, it is the first comprehensive presentation of Schames’ works in the US.
Art could never repair what Samson Schames lost, but in that loss, he sought and found both meaning and a language for expressing it.
📅 Exhibition Dates: Sept. 15 – Dec. 21, 2025
📍 Location: Center for Jewish History
15 W. 16th St., New York, NY 10011
Co-Sponsored by: Yeshiva University Museum
🔗 Don’t miss the chance to experience this extraordinary exhibition. Tickets for the opening: buff.ly/f0yuwCz
