David Crown Holocaust Print Collection

Collection

Identifier: MSS 0334

Staff Only

Scope and Content

This collection consists of a series of 26 prints, titled In My Lifetime, depicting various themes and scenes of the Holocaust. The prints are all intaglio; they were etched with nitric acid or using a mezzotint rocker. All prints were produced on zinc or copper plates, with indigo ink hand-blended by Dr. Crown. Additional records include various sketches, biographical materials, work lists, photographs, slides, programs and papers regarding the exhibition, a Yahrzeit certificate for Crown's grandfather, Abraham, and eight of the original etched copper printing plates.

Dates

Creation: 1985-2013, undated

Creator

Crown, A. David, 1924-2016. (Person)

Access

This collection is open for research.

Biographical/Historical Note

David Crown was born in London, England. He was educated at Cambridge University, the University of London, and the London Hospital Medical School. After becoming a physician in 1947, he moved to Rochester, New York, where he practiced internal medicine until his retirement in 1982. The following year, Crown moved to Gainesville, Florida, where he pursued his second career as an artist. Crown died on August 21, 2016 in Gainesville.

Dr. Crown worked across various media: woodblocks, linocuts, etchings and collagraphs, oil painting, sculpture, and mezzotints. He was awarded a residency for printmaking at the Frans Masereel Center in Belgium, and was the Founder and Director of the International Mezzotint Society.

Dr. Crown's works are included in several museum, library, and university collections, including The British Museum, London; the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art and the Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica, both at the University of Florida; the Ekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts, Russia; and Univerzitet Educons, Serbia.

Extent

0.42 Linear feet (1 Box and one flat file drawer)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Artist David Crown worked across various media and was the Founder and Director of the International Mezzotint Society. This collection consists of a series of Crown's prints, titled In My Lifetime, which depicts various themes and scenes of the Holocaust. Additional prints, sketches, original etched copper printing plates, and documents are also included.

Physical Location

University of Florida Smathers Library Building

Acquisition Information

These works were created and donated by artist A. David Crown. Additional slides, photos, and neegatives related to "In My Lifetime" donated by Deborah Cohen-Crown in October 2022.

Alternative Format Available

Digital reproductions of selected items in the David Crown Holocaust Print Collection are available online via the University of Florida Digital Collections (UFDC). Please read the Permissions for Use statement for information on copyright, fair use, and use of UFDC digital objects.

Related Material

To see the artist's statement, see "In My Lifetime." A. David Crown's 2014 lecture on the In My Lifetime Holocaust print series can be heard here.

Art by David Crown, MD (Artist's website)