© Mara Vishniac Kohn, courtesy International Center of Photography
Currently not on view
Grandfather and granddaughter, Warsaw,
ca. 1935–38, printed after 1950
Roman Vishniac, 1897–1990; born St. Petersburg, Russia; died New York, NY; active Berlin, Germany, and New York City, NY
2017-245
In 1935 the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) in Paris commissioned Vishniac to document the hardships and perseverance of impoverished Jewish communities throughout Central and Eastern Europe. Taken during dozens of expeditions over a four-year period, images such as this, which captures an emotional encounter between two family members, initially were intended to elicit empathy and inspire philanthropic donations for the JDC’s relief programs. Later, Vishniac’s photographs took on more urgent historical significance as documents of European Jewish life before the Holocaust.
Information
Title
Grandfather and granddaughter, Warsaw
Dates
ca. 1935–38, printed after 1950
Maker
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image: 21.7 × 19.5 cm (8 9/16 × 7 11/16 in.)
sheet: 24.6 × 20.3 cm (9 11/16 × 8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mara Vishniac Kohn
Object Number
2017-245
Place Depicted
Europe, Poland, Warsaw
Inscription
Stamp in black ink on verso: FROM THE ESTATE OF ROMAN VISHNIAC / © MARA VISHNIAC KOHN
Culture
Techniques
The artist; estate of the artist; given to the Princeton University Art Museum, 2017.
