Gourmet gift for art lovers: the Samuel Bak museum

In exactly a month’s time, in the middle of November, the museum devoted to the internationally renowned painter Samuel Bak, born in Vilnius in 1933, will open its doors to visitors.

The opening shall be attended by Samuel Bak, who is coming from the USA to this special event.

The Samuel Bak Museum will be situated on Naugarduko St. and will function as a branch of the Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum. This will be the first museum in the world devoted solely to the art of this famous Litvak painter.

Samuel Bak had already at the age of nine held his first exhibition of drawings. He miraculously survived the Nazi occupation and in 1945 ended up in a displaced persons camp in Germany. Later he lived in Israel, France, Italy and Switzerland. In 1993 Samuel Bak settled in the United States of America where he continues with his creative work.

On the eve of the museum’s opening, Samuel Bak will be bestowed the Honorary Citizenship of Vilnius. The artist has donated to Lithuania and the museum 54 of his works, which shall be exhibited to the public as of 17 November 2017. The Samuel Bak Museum plans to open in the foreseeable future its second exhibition space and an education centre.

“Vilnius, the city of my birth — says Samuel Bak — is so etched into my soul that it carries a special place in my creative life. Vilnius, the Jerusalem of Lithuania, which had been an essential centre of Jewish culture, is a source of every Litvak’s individual pride. My becoming part of the city’s cultural landscape is for me incredibly meaningful.”

Samuel Bak will spend a week in Vilnius. He will take part in the opening events devoted to the new museum, including the official ceremony of Vilnius’s Honorary Citizenship in the City Hall. The artist will give a masterclass in painting to art students and have meetings with journalists and public.

The artist will be accompanied by his wife Josee, and members of his close family.