Leonard Baskin (1922–2000) was a sculptor, wood engraver, book illustrator, graphic artist, writer, and teacher. Born in New Brunswick, NJ, Baskin’s father was an orthodox rabbi. By the age of 15, he began to study art formally, later attending a Jewish religious college. Much of his art was influenced by biblical stories, mythology, literature, and history. During World War II, Baskin served in the Navy and later returned to Europe to continue creating art. Baskin created many works on the Holocaust, including the bronze statue Holocaust Memorial in Ann Arbor, MI. Baskin said it took him fifty years to be able to create work on the subject of the Holocaust. “The woodcuts make but a faint stab at the appalling actuality of the Holocaust, but they have granted me a gesture to somehow deal with the crashing reality of the Holocaust.”
 

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