Paris was the center of a dramatic artistic revolution unfolding in Europe between the two world wars. Painters, sculptors, writers and musicians from all over Europe and America were drawn to the French capital, to pursue their art amidst a highly charged creative atmosphere, in which the now legendary figures of early Modernism were redefining Western Art. Among the artists who gathered there was a significant group of Jewish artists from Central and Eastern Europe. Sharing a common language (Yiddish) and background, Jewish artists (such as those included in the Ghez Collection) gravitated toward one another. Congregating around Montparnasse, they formed a kind of enclave, which came to be known as The Circle of Montparnasse, or The Jewish School of Paris.
As can be seen from this selection of paintings, many of the artists of The Jewish School of Paris embraced and experimented with various aspects of a new artistic language brought forward by the developing trends and isms of Modern Art.

But World War II would bring this rich creative activity to an abrupt and tragic end.  Most of the artists presented here, along with many others, were arrested and interned in the concentration camps of Drancy, Compiègne and Gurs and ultimately deported to death camps. Thus, on many labels accompanying each exhibited work of art, a question mark has been placed where the year of the artist’s death should appear - as in most cases it is not possible to know precisely when he or she died.  We know only the year that the artist was arrested and / or sent to a death camp or a concentration camp.

The Oscar Ghez Collection stands not only as a memorial to artists who perished in the Holocaust, but also as an important record documenting the creative output of 18 artists who were part of what has become known as The Jewish School of Paris.  Clearly, Dr. Ghez showed sensitivity and determination in seeking out and drawing together works by these artists. The Collection is an invaluable living record of humanity's persistent will to create. Dr. Oscar Ghez de Castelnuovo was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Honoris Causa from the University of Haifa in 1995.
 

Georges Ascher, The Birdcage oil on canvas, 81X65 cm	Joachim Weingart, Still Life with Vase and Fruit oil on canvas, 58X44 cm

Alphabetical list of the artists in the Ghez Collection:
  Naum Arenson  (b. Kreslavka, Latvia, 1872 - d. New York, 1943)
  Georges Ascher  (b. Warsaw, 1884 - arrested and sent to concentration camp of Gurs, 1943)
  Abraham Berline  (b. Niegine, Ukraine, 1894 - deported to a death camp in Compiegne, 1942)
  Jacques Cytrynovitch  (b. Odziwal, Poland, 1893 - Auschwitz, 1942)
  Henri (Chaim) Epstein  (b. Lodz, Poland, 1891 - Auschwitz, ?)
  Alex Fasini (Shaul Feinsilber)  (b. Odessa, Ukraine, 1892 - Auschwitz, ?)
  Adolphe (Aizik) Feder  (b. Odessa, Ukraine, 1887 - deported to a death camp, 1943)
  Jacques Gotko (Yankeli Gotkowski)  (b. Odessa, Ukraine, 1900 - ?)
  Nathan Grunsweigh  (b. Krakow, Poland, 1880 - deported to concentration camp in Germany, 1943)
  Karl (Tobiasz) Haber  (b. Lutomiersk, Poland, 1885 - Bialystok Ghetto, 1943)
  Joseph Hecht  (b.Lodz, Poland, 1891 - ?)
  Max Jacob  (b. Quimper, Brittany, 1876 - Drancy, 1944)
  George Kars (Karpeles)  (b. Kraluppy, Czechoslovakia, 1880 - Switzerland, 1945)
  Moise (Moshe) Kogan  (b. Orgeiew or Argeiur, Bessarabia, 1879 - deported to a death camp, 1943)
  Nathalie Kraemer  (b. Paris, 1891 or 1883 - arrested and deported to Auschwitz, 1943)
  Roman Kramsztyk  (b. Warsaw, 1885 - Warsaw Ghetto, 1942)
  Joachim Weingart  (b. Drochobitch, Galicia, 1895 - deported to Auschwitz, 1942)
  Leon Weissberg  (b. Przeworsk, Galicia, 1893 - Maidanek, 1943)
 

Natalie Kraemer, Trees oil on canvas, 55.5x33 cm	Karl Haber, Woman with Dark Hair oil on canvas, 61x46 cm

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