Holocaust Museum LA Presents ‘Jack Boul: Reflections of a Postwar Europe’

Exhibition of Postwar Work by Notable Artist Boul Reflects His Emotional Reaction to Experiences as a GI in World War II

Holocaust Museum LA presents “Jack Boul: Reflections of a Postwar Europe,” an exhibit of American artist Boul’s work reflecting his personal experiences confronted with the horrors of World War II. The exhibit opens Oct. 1 and runs through the end of November.

“Jack Boul: Reflections of a Postwar Europe” explores a range of emotional reactions to witnessing the consequences of the inconceivable brutality and suffering that occurred during the Holocaust. The works by Boul capture both the loss and desperation as well as the unbelievable survival and resilience that was often too difficult to express in words.

Jack Boul was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1945 and stationed at a German Prisoner of War camp near Pisa, Italy. German POWs denied the mounting evidence of the Holocaust to Boul, greatly upsetting him. After the war, Boul studied at the Cornish School of Art and then American University, where he went on to become a professor of art. He began exhibiting his work in 1951 in both group and solo shows. Works by Boul have been acquired by the National Gallery of Art and the Phillips Collection. His paintings, sculptures and monoprints have also been exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery of Art; the Baltimore Museum of Art; and the Mint Museum of Charlotte, North Carolina. For 70 years, Boul has been one of the premiere artists in the Washington, D.C., area, employing his exceptional talents in both painting and monotype to convey a deeply poetic sensibility.

The graphic and horrific images of the Holocaust have stayed with him throughout his life. After he studied the official World War II photographs at the National Archives, Boul created this Holocaust series. The collection was first shown at Washington’s Corcoran Gallery of Art in 2000 and later donated to Holocaust Museum LA. Boul views the collection as his small way of keeping the history alive: “I thought it was important that they not be forgotten.”

Admission to the museum and the exhibit is free to California residents and students, but reservations are required.  

For more information, visit https://holocaustmuseumla.org/post/jack-boul-exhibit.

About Holocaust Museum LA

Holocaust Museum LA is the first survivor-founded Holocaust museum in the United States. Since 1961, the museum has provided free Holocaust education to students and visitors from across Los Angeles, the United States and the world, fulfilling the mission of the founding Holocaust survivors to commemorate, educate and inspire. The museum is open seven days a week; and because the founding survivors insisted that no visitors ever be turned away from learning about the Holocaust for lack of an entry fee, museum admission is free to students and California residents.