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Helga Wolfenstein Kingcontemporary & holocaust art |
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Helga Wolfenstein King (1922 - 2003) |
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Before World War II
Helga Wolfenstein (1940, age 18) |
During World War II In Terezin, teenaged Helga was a draftswoman. She met her soulmate Peter Kien / Petr Kien. Although young himself, Peter was an accomplished Czech artist, poet, and writer. Peter heroically and lovingly used his influence in the camp to save the three women from a transport to the Auschwitz death camp. Tragically, he later found himself on a transport to Auschwitz where he died. |
Sad Case of Repeatedly Looted Art After liberation (May 8, 1945), the suitcase stayed at Helga's aunt's apartment in Brno until the Communists confiscated it. Admitting that they are Helga's property but claiming them as national treasures, today's Terezin Memorial (Památník Terezín) has refused to return Peter's art works to Helga and her heirs.
In her many attempts to regain these pieces, Helga beseeched Holocaust museums of the world |
You can see roughly 30 cherished pieces of Peter Kien's art that Helga possessed at the time of her death, here. Helga died trying to get the rest of Peter's dear tokens of love returned to her. Helga's daughter Judy would welcome advice or funds for the retrieval of these cherished and valuable pieces. |
After World War II In 1957, nationalized-American Eric King, Helga's hometown friend, vacationed in London. In time, he wooed and won Helga's love. She left her beloved nephews and bustling London for sleepy, tropical Lake Worth, Florida. Helga and Eric married upon her arrival. In 1959, Helga and Eric became the parents of Judy. Living mainly in Lake Worth, they also spent some time in Montauk, NY; Somers Point and Wildwood, NJ; and Pittsburgh, PA. |
Helga went on to become a talented and professionally trained artist. Some of her strongest local influences were: Reuben Hale, Jim Houser, Patrick Archer, Gene Arant, and Paul Aho. Some of her favorite artists included: Pablo Picasso, Robert Rauschenberg, Morris Louis, Mark Rothko, Paul Klee, Willem de Kooning, Rufino Tamayo, and Gustav Klimt. Allergic to turpentine, Helga painted in watercolor and acrylic. She drew in charcoal, sanguine lead, pastels, pen-and-ink, and graphite. She created mixed-media collages and works in fiber, mosaic, copper enamel, and ceramic. Her pieces grace private collections across the globe.
Not long after becoming a U.S. citizen, |
© Copyright 2012-2024 Helga Wolfenstein King and her heirs. All rights reserved. |