Visitors to my house often comment on my nutcracker of Pope Benedict. There is a story behind that... when I accompanied my friend, the late Houston artist Alice Cahana to The Vatican with her gift to Pope Benedict.
Alice, a renowned abstract colorist, was a Survivor of Auschwitz, who painted and often collaged her truth of the Holocaust.... works found in collections around the world.
Pope Benedict, a child of Nazi Germany, personally, accepted for The Vatican Museum this massive painting titled "No Names"...Alice's memory of her arrival at the death camp.
It was an unforgettable moment October 2016. My nutcracker reminds me that Alice's painting now hangs just outside the Sistine Chapel among the greatest art of the world.
Pope Benedict, (above).Alice, (above). Photos by Shara Fryer.