Unveiling of Sir Ben Helfgott’s bronze
Unveiling of Sir Ben Helfgott’s bronze
Wednesday 25 September
Held at The National Portrait Gallery
View video clip HERE
On 25 September Yad Vashem UK Foundation and National Portrait Gallery celebrated the Gallery’s acquisition of a bronze sculpture of Sir Ben Helfgott, Honorary President of Yad Vashem UK Foundation, by Royal sculptor Frances Segelman (Lady Petchey).
Simon Bentley, Chairman of Yad Vashem UK Foundation said:
We are thrilled to be hosting, together with Frances Segelman (Lady Petchey), this prestigious event in honour of our President Sir Ben Helfgott. An inspirational Holocaust survivor who has been dedicated for most of his life in educating others about the lessons of the Holocaust.
The life-sized portrait is the latest in a series of sculptures created by Frances Segelman (Lady Petchey) of Holocaust survivors living in the UK, and celebrates Sir Ben’s recent knighthood for his contribution to services to Holocaust remembrance and education.
Frances Segelman (Lady Petchey) said:
It has been a great honour to sculpt the legendary Sir Ben, and I feel immensely proud this sculpture is now part of the National Portrait Gallery’s collection. Sculpting Holocaust survivors helps ensure the lives and stories of these extraordinary people are never forgotten.
The sculpture is typical of Segelman’s ‘live’ work, with the initial clay bust taking just two hours to complete, and subsequently being cast into bronze at Bronze Age Foundry in Limehouse.
Helfgott hopes his portrait will be made use of to tell my story and as a memorial to those that were murdered in the Holocaust.