Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 19 minutes ago
Art at the LBI: Samson Schames
For Samson Schames (1898–1967), art was an act of resilience.
After fleeing Nazi Germany, the Frankfurt-born painter and designer was interned in Britain as an "enemy alien." Deprived of brushes, paints, and canvas, Schames refused to stop creating. Instead, he transformed shards of glass, nails, stones, and debris - sometimes gathered from the wreckage of the Blitz into powerful collages and mosaics.
His works reflect a world fractured by persecution and war. Drawing on Jewish tradition and symbolism, Schames gave form to grief, displacement, and survival. His 1941 mosaic The Tear is a striking example: a mournful face emerges from broken materials, while a tear-shaped opening in the work becomes both a symbol of loss and a literal rupture in its surface.
Today, Samson Schames' work is preserved in the Leo Baeck Institute's collections, where it stands as a testament to the enduring power of artistic expression in the face of exile and persecution.
🖼️ From the archives of the Leo Baeck Institute, Samson Schames Collection + photo by Samson Schames. Leo Baeck Institute Archives, Paul Arnsberg Collection, AR 7206.
#ArtAtTheLBI #SamsonSchames #ArtOfExile #JewishArtists #ModernArt #LeoBaeckInstitute #ArtHistory
Art at the LBI: Samson Schames
For Samson Schames (1898–1967), art was an act of resilience.
After fleeing Nazi Germany, the Frankfurt-born painter and designer was interned in Britain as an "enemy alien." Deprived of brushes, paints, and canvas, Schames refused to stop creating. Instead, he transformed shards of glass, nails, stones, and debris - sometimes gathered from the wreckage of the Blitz into powerful collages and mosaics.
His works reflect a world fractured by persecution and war. Drawing on Jewish tradition and symbolism, Schames gave form to grief, displacement, and survival. His 1941 mosaic The Tear is a striking example: a mournful face emerges from broken materials, while a tear-shaped opening in the work becomes both a symbol of loss and a literal rupture in its surface.
Today, Samson Schames' work is preserved in the Leo Baeck Institute's collections, where it stands as a testament to the enduring power of artistic expression in the face of exile and persecution.
🖼️ From the archives of the Leo Baeck Institute, Samson Schames Collection + photo by Samson Schames. Leo Baeck Institute Archives, Paul Arnsberg Collection, AR 7206.
#ArtAtTheLBI #SamsonSchames #ArtOfExile #JewishArtists #ModernArt #LeoBaeckInstitute #ArtHistory
