Photography Exhibit Opens in Bell Gallery
Rivers’ Bell Gallery is currently hosting an exhibition of iconic black and white photographs by Paula Horn Kotis that documents the 1948 journey of Jewish Holocaust survivors from a British displaced persons camp on the island of Cyprus to the port of Haifa in the new state of Israel. The collection was donated to the school by Rivers alumnus and former trustee Howard G. Davis III, Class of 1970. The opening reception for the exhibit, which runs through March 8, will be held on Thursday, February 15, from 3:30 – 5:00 p.m.
“My goal in donating the collection to Rivers was to provide the school with what I see as an invaluable teaching tool,” said Mr. Davis on a recent visit to the gallery.
The 32 gelatin silver prints in the collection portray the refugees over the course of their journey, capturing their patience and endurance as their time in the camp winds down, the mundane daily life of those crammed together on the ship, and the anxiety of embarking on a new life in a new land. The photographs may represent a small slice of history, in the larger context of World War II and its aftermath, but they vividly capture both the suffering the Jewish people had endured as well as their indomitable sense of hope.
Already the collection has found its way into the curriculum. History teacher Carol Davidson and Visual Arts Department chair and photography teacher David Saul collaborated on a presentation in Ms. Davidson’s Holocaust elective this fall, using six of the photographs in the collection. With historical background provided by Ms. Davidson, Mr. Saul then discussed both the creative impact and photographic style of Ms. Kotis’ work, within the context of other contemporary photographers.
Paula Horn Kotis was something of a pioneer as a single woman working as a photo journalist for major American magazines, and she spent the post-war years travelling throughout Europe and Israel documenting the difficult transition to peacetime. She was also well-known for her portraits of fellow artists and her vivid depiction of New York City street life in the 50s and 60s. A first-generation American who graduated from Hunter College in 1943, she trained alongside her Russian-born father in his Upper East Side portrait studio. This collection of photographs has been exhibited at the Schoolhouse Gallery in Provincetown, as well as in the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City. Kotis’ work can be found in private and public collections including the Museum of Modern Art, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and The Provincetown Art Association and Museum.
This is not the first time Mr. Davis’ interest in iconic photography has intersected with Rivers’ history curriculum. In 2012, the Worcester Art Museum mounted an exhibition entitled “From Kennedy to Kent State, Images of a Generation,” featuring a collection of photographs that Mr. Davis had donated to the museum. Rivers history students visited the exhibit to see photographs ranging from the early Beatles to Robert Kennedy’s assassination that Davis had spent more than a decade collecting—prominent images dating from the late 1950s to the early 1970s that captured the essence of a bygone era.
Mr. Davis has had a life-long interest in photography. When he was a student at Rivers, there were virtually no art classes offered—“I did an independent study in photography my junior or senior year, but it was the exception at that time.” He has since been a staunch supporter of the arts at Rivers, as one of the inaugural underwriters of the Conservatory Program and donor of a financial aid fund for a student with an affinity for the arts. He recently established a fund to provide resources to explore and address issues of diversity and inclusivity on campus.
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