Frederick Terna (October 8, 1923 – December 8, 2022) was an Austrian-born American painter and Holocaust survivor who lived for many years in Brooklyn, New York.
Fredrick Terna | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 8, 1923 Vienna, Austria |
| Died | December 8, 2022 (aged 99) New York City, New York, U.S. |
Early life and Shoah
editFrederick Terna was born Friedrich Arthur Taussig to Jochanan "Jan" and Lona (née Herzog) Taussig[1] in Vienna on October 8, 1923. In 1926, his brother Tomáš "Tommy" was born.[1] Later that year, the family moved back to their hometown[2] of Prague.[3] After the German invasion of 1939, the brothers Fred and Tommy were barred from attending school as Jews.[1] Terna's family went into hiding in the Czech countryside and acquired false identities changing their name to "Terna" from "Taussig."[4] The false identity was discovered in 1941 and the family was sent to concentration camps.[4] Terna was interned at the Lípa forced labor camp from October of that year to March 1943.[5] He was then transferred to the Theresienstadt concentration camp, where he was briefly reunited with his father, who had been deported to Theresienstadt in December 1941.[1] In the fall of 1944 Terna was deported to Auschwitz.[5] Towards the end of 1944 he was transferred again to Kaufering, a sub-camp of Dachau.[5] He was liberated in April 1945 and spent the next few months in a hospital.[2] His entire family was murdered in the Shoah.[2]
Later life and artistic career
editIn 1946 Terna went to Paris and studied painting at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and at the Académie Julian.[3] In 1952 he moved to New York City, where he lived for the remainder of his life.[3] His artistic oeuvre dealt with his experiences in the concentration camps and with themes of Jewish thought and history. His paintings are part of important public and private collections, including the Smithsonian Institution and the Albertina.[3] Terna has taught a course on the history of Jewish art at the New School.[2]
Terna died on December 8, 2022, at the age of 99.[6][7] Terna's funeral was held at Kane Street Synagogue in Brooklyn, where he had been a longtime member.[7]
Further reading
edit- Julia Mayer: The Life and Art of Fred Terna
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Fred Terna". Retrieved October 27, 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Eyewitness: Fred Terna". April 21, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Painter & Holocaust Survivor Fred Terna Shares Stories of Life and Art". Retrieved October 27, 2022.
- ^ a b "Fred Terna, Survivor and Master of His Art" (PDF). packer.edu. The Packer Collegiate Institute. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
- ^ a b c Stephen, Westfall (July 15, 2016). "Fredrick Terna". Retrieved October 27, 2022.
- ^ Sandomir, Richard (February 4, 2023). "Fred Terna, Creator of Fiery Holocaust Paintings, Dies at 99". The New York Times. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
- ^ a b Keys, Lisa (December 9, 2022). "Holocaust survivor and painter Frederick Terna dies at 99". JTA. Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved December 13, 2022.