Homecoming
InventarnummerM2015/012:001
TitelHomecoming
BeschreibungA commemorative sculpture "The Homecoming" by Anna Cohn (1921-2012) a Sydney based prolific artist, sculptor, art critic and writer. Donated by her daughter, Carol Vleeskens. The sculpture is thought to be a maquette made in 1990 of a sculpture which was presented to the National Committee for Refugees, NSW Parliament. It is similar to a bronze wall sculpture which is on the wall of St John's AUSTCARE in Darlinghurst (Victoria Rd) which was commissioned by Austcare in 1996.
Anna Cohn was born in Krakow, Poland in 1921. As a child, it was apparent that she had a talent for drawing. A survivor of Auschwitz, she came to Paris after liberation in May 1945 and won a three year scholarship to the Académie des Arts Modernes. Reunited with her fiancé, they married and immigrated in Australia after she had completed two years of the scholarship, arriving in February 1947.
In 1950 - 1951, Anna attended the two final years of the Diploma Arts Course at East Sydney Tech (now the National Art School) and then studied painting part-time with Godfrey Miller, John Olsen, and Peter Laverty from 1956 - 1960. She studied sculpture part-time with Lyndon Dadswell from 1960 - 1962.
Anna’s work have been displayed at numerous solo and group exhibitions and is represented in the collection of the Art Gallery of NSW as well as other public works and commissions. She has been an active member of the Sculptors’ Society, serving as a committee member from 1969 – 1992 including a term as president from 1985 – 1988. Anna has also been a member of several Art advisory committees and has written about art and sculpture for Art & Australia and in the press.
Anna Cohn was very involved in a number of aspects of the Jewish community in Sydney. Anna lived in Sydney until her death in 2012.
Meaning and intention of the artist
Anna Cohn (1921 – 2012)
'The Homecoming', 1990, bronze on wooden plinth, height 393 mm, (295mm bronze only)
A distorted Star of David sharply points up. The most recognized Jewish symbol, it is held by compact clusters of stylized figures arranged on five levels in a striking expressive upwards composition. A close-up view reveals the figures being families with small children in the arms and elderly resting along the way. Small in size, ’The Homecoming’ has a quality of a monumental sculpture with a powerful message of hope and new beginnings. It commemorates the struggles and hopes of thousands of Jewish Holocaust survivors arriving in Australia after the war in search for new home.
The donor, Anna’s daughter Carol Vleeskens, thought of this sculpture to be a maquette of a sculpture which was presented to the National Committee for Refugees, NSW Parliament. Since an online search did not provide any indication of Anna’s work being currently on display in the NSW Parliament, I unable to confirm this without contacting the relevant curator.
However, 'The Homecoming' predates much larger sculptural work commissioned from Anna Cohn by Austcare, the Australian Care for Refugees in 1996. The bronze relief, measuring almost three meters is entitled ‘To the Refugees of the World’ and replicates the levelled composition of groups of people. The bronze wall sculpture was unveiled on 19 February 1996 by then Premier of NSW, the Hon Bob Carr to commemorate all those, whose cry for peace and freedom reaches us all. The artwork is on the northern external wall of the St John's AUSTCARE in Darlinghurst (Victoria Rd), a few steps from the Sydney Jewish Museum.
Anna Cohn was born in Krakow, Poland in 1921. As a child, it was apparent that she had a talent for drawing. A survivor of Auschwitz, she came to Paris after liberation in May 1945 and won a three year scholarship to the Académie des Arts Modernes. Reunited with her fiancé, they married and immigrated in Australia after she had completed two years of the scholarship, arriving in February 1947.
In 1950 - 1951, Anna attended the two final years of the Diploma Arts Course at East Sydney Tech (now the National Art School) and then studied painting part-time with Godfrey Miller, John Olsen, and Peter Laverty from 1956 - 1960. She studied sculpture part-time with Lyndon Dadswell from 1960 - 1962.
Anna’s work have been displayed at numerous solo and group exhibitions and is represented in the collection of the Art Gallery of NSW as well as other public works and commissions. She has been an active member of the Sculptors’ Society, serving as a committee member from 1969 – 1992 including a term as president from 1985 – 1988. Anna has also been a member of several Art advisory committees and has written about art and sculpture for Art & Australia and in the press.
Anna Cohn was very involved in a number of aspects of the Jewish community in Sydney. Anna lived in Sydney until her death in 2012.
Meaning and intention of the artist
Anna Cohn (1921 – 2012)
'The Homecoming', 1990, bronze on wooden plinth, height 393 mm, (295mm bronze only)
A distorted Star of David sharply points up. The most recognized Jewish symbol, it is held by compact clusters of stylized figures arranged on five levels in a striking expressive upwards composition. A close-up view reveals the figures being families with small children in the arms and elderly resting along the way. Small in size, ’The Homecoming’ has a quality of a monumental sculpture with a powerful message of hope and new beginnings. It commemorates the struggles and hopes of thousands of Jewish Holocaust survivors arriving in Australia after the war in search for new home.
The donor, Anna’s daughter Carol Vleeskens, thought of this sculpture to be a maquette of a sculpture which was presented to the National Committee for Refugees, NSW Parliament. Since an online search did not provide any indication of Anna’s work being currently on display in the NSW Parliament, I unable to confirm this without contacting the relevant curator.
However, 'The Homecoming' predates much larger sculptural work commissioned from Anna Cohn by Austcare, the Australian Care for Refugees in 1996. The bronze relief, measuring almost three meters is entitled ‘To the Refugees of the World’ and replicates the levelled composition of groups of people. The bronze wall sculpture was unveiled on 19 February 1996 by then Premier of NSW, the Hon Bob Carr to commemorate all those, whose cry for peace and freedom reaches us all. The artwork is on the northern external wall of the St John's AUSTCARE in Darlinghurst (Victoria Rd), a few steps from the Sydney Jewish Museum.
Datum 1990 - 1990
Schlagwortart, commemoration service, sculptures, Holocaust
Objektbezeichnungsculptures
Materialbronze
Format
- width: 200.00 mm
height: 295.00 mm
depth: 160.00 mm
weight: 4.00 kg
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Carol Vleeskens