The paintings I have known by my great-grandfather have always been what I would call “final” pieces. I know that he had sketch books and that he must have created different versions of paintings along the way, but I was never lucky enough to see any of those. In this past year of “finds” I have learned that he did, in fact, create multiple versions of paintings. In the 17 photos that ZIH emailed me several weeks ago (the picture at the far left) combined with two other photos I found in books and online over the last 10 years, I can now finally see the progression of his choices. Looking at these three together provides such depth and insight! This is why I continue to search for the lost paintings – because each new “find” combined with the knowledge of the others we already know about, greatly expands understanding into his body of work. These three pieces are all held by the Jewish Historical Institute (ZIH) in Warsaw.
