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In 2025, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) Judaica and Art of the Americas departments collaborated to acquire a painting by renowned painter Nathaniel Jacobson called "Bread of Affliction." Nathaniel painted this in 1940 in response to the persecution of Jews in Europe—a rare subject for an American artist, especially before the United States had entered the war.Now, join us for a special conversation between Nathaniel's son, Josh Jacobson, and MFA curators Simona Di Nepi and Ethan Lasser as they explore Nathaniel's life, Holocaust experience, and what this work means for their collection.
This special conversation will be recorded to air for International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27, 2027.
About "Bread of Affliction"
At the center, a Passover ritual is observed against the backdrop of the Israelites' exodus from Egypt. The Seder table is a place of sorrow rather than joy—note the female figure hunched over her meal. To the right, a modern refugee fleeing a burning synagogue behind him, Torah scroll in hand, is left in despair at the edge of an abyss.
A recent gift from the artist's family, the work received treatment in the MFA's Conservation Center and is newly on display in the MFA Art of the Americas Wing.
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