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Portrait of Josef Nassy

Object | Accession Number: 1991.245.207

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    Overview

    Brief Narrative
    Drawing created by fellow inmate, A. Mol, at Tittmoning, in July 1943.
    Artwork Title
    Nassy Number 561, American Civil Internee Tittmoning Ober Bayer
    Date
    creation:  1943 July 28
    Credit Line
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the Severin Wunderman Family
    Markings
    front, lower left corner, handwritten, graphite: NASSY No. 561 / AMER CIVIL INTERNEE / TITTMONING/Ober Bayer
    Signature
    front, lower right corner, script, graphite: A. Mol. / July 28, 1943
    Contributor
    Artist: A. Mol
    Subject: Josef Nassy
    Biography
    Josef Nassy was born in 1904 in Paramaribo, Suriname (the Dutch Guiana.) He was the seventh of nine children. His father Adolf was a prosperous businessman and member of Parliament. He was a descendant of Jews who fled Spain during the Inquisition, and spoke Yiddish, but was not religious. Josef was also of African descent. In 1919, Josef joined his father, in New York. He had taken art classes since a child, and now attended the Pratt Institute. He received a degree in industrial electrical engineering and worked in London and Paris installing movie theatre sound systems. In 1938, he attended the Academie des Beaux Arts in Brussels, Belgium, to study painting. Nassy was earning a living as a portrait artist when World War II began. In May 1940, Nazi Germany invaded and occupied Belgium. Josef was arrested in April 1942 as an enemy national, as he had an American passport. Nassy was held in Beverloo transit camp in Leopoldsburg, Belgium, before being transferred to Laufen internment camp and its subcamp Tittmoning. While imprisoned, Nassy was supplied with art materials by the International YMCA. He created more than 200 paintings and drawings chronicling the people and the appearance of the camp, with works featuring the barbed wire, watch towers, and prison bars. The United States Army liberated Laufen internment camp on May 5, 1945. Nassy passed away in 1976.

    Physical Details

    Language
    English
    Classification
    Art
    Category
    Drawings
    Object Type
    Drawing (lcsh)
    Physical Description
    Image of a head and shoulders portrait of Josef Nassy, wearing a beard and facing slightly to left, looking at viewer. Title is at the lower left, and the artist's signature and date at the lower right.
    Dimensions
    overall: Height: 7.870 inches (19.99 cm) | Width: 5.120 inches (13.005 cm)
    Materials
    overall : wove paper, graphite

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
    Conditions on Use
    Material(s) in this collection may be protected by copyright and/or related rights. You do not require further permission from the Museum to use this material. The user is solely responsible for making a determination as to if and how the material may be used.

    Keywords & Subjects

    Administrative Notes

    Provenance
    The portrait was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1991 by the Severin Wunderman Family.
    Record last modified:
    2024-10-03 12:47:07
    This page:
    http:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn5477

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