SAMUEL BAK (B. 1933) The Nest signed and dated 'BAK / 85'; inscribed 'f.o.1162A / THE NEST' (on the stretcher) oil on canvas 36 1/4 x 25 9/16 in (92.0 x 65.0 cm) Painted in 1985 Footnotes: Provenance Pucker Gallery, Boston, MA. Norman and Myrna Katz Collection, Massachusetts (acquired from the above). Literature S. B. Schäfer, Catalog Raisonné of Samuel Bak, Germany, online catalogue. Born 1933 in Vilna, Poland at the eve of the Nazi invasion, Samuel Bak was eight years old when the area came under German and Soviet occupation, and just a year later held his first public exhibition in the Ghetto of Vilna. As World War II came to an end, Bak and his mother fled to the Landsberg Displaced Persons Camps, where he continued his artistic education. Following, the pair settled in newly formed Israel in 1948 though Bak soon traveled to Pairs to further his studies in 1956. Samuel Bak has exhibited consistently since then and has received international acclaim for his treatment of themes within his painting, related to the genocide and liberation of the Jewish people. Notable exhibitions include retrospectives at Yad Vashem Museum in Jerusalem, and the South African Jewish Museum in Cape Town as well as solo exhibitions at the Bezalel National Museum in Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. Samuel Bak currently resides outside of Boston, MA and many of his recent works are exhibited at the Pucker Gallery, Boston. The symbol of a nest brings forth warm feelings of safety and security. While some of Bak's representations of the Pear show the fruit in various stages of decay, this composition showcases the fruit neatly tucked away, in a seemingly futile attempt to disguise itself within the array of objects. We see Bak play with this false sense of security found in the icon of a nest as shown in his 2019 work titled A Nest of One's Own, which in a more obvious display a bird is found bursting out of a bird house that is too small. The pear similarly stands out as Bak has place it in the center of the composition, directing our attention to it. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing