Stalag Survivor: The Art of Carl H. Holmstrom
If you had to carry what mattered to you most on a forced march of unknown length across a wintry landscape, would you choose your works of art or food, water and warm clothing? That’s the real-life decision faced by Lt. Carl. H. Holmstrom (1917-1979) in January 1945 as a prisoner of war in Nazi Germany. This difficult journey, as seen on the recent popular Apple TV series, "Masters of the Air”, forced an impossible choice.
Holmstrom chose to carry the visual record he’d made of his 28 months in captivity, and Ball & Socket Arts in Cheshire celebrates that decision, and honors Veterans Day, with the exhibition, “Stalag Survivor: The Art of Carl H. Holmstrom,” on view from Oct. 18 to Nov. 24, 2024. Included with the exhibition at Ball & Socket’s Workshop Gallery (493 W. Main St., Bldg. 3) will be the sketches, finished drawings and watercolors from Holmstrom’s time in captivity, mostly at Stalag Luft III, the site of the legendary Great Escape.
Holmstrom, a Cheshire resident, survived his 28 months as a POW by recording his impressions in charcoal, paint and pencil on whatever paper he could scavenge. Contextual maps and information will accompany the digital reproductions of his striking images that capture the daily life and harrowing ordeals of soldiers incarcerated during World War II.