Prince
Charles
, as patron of the
National Holocaust Memorial Day Trust
, commissioned seven prominent artists, including the Italian
Massimiliano Pironti
, to portray as many Holocaust survivors.
It is one of the initiatives planned in the United Kingdom on the occasion of the Day of Remembrance.
The survivors were children or young people at the time of the Holocaust, are mostly in their 90s and have spent much of their adult life in Britain.
"As the number of Holocaust survivors sadly but inevitably decreases, my constant hope is that this special collection is a guiding light," said the heir to the throne.
The paintings will be exhibited at the
Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace
, from January 27 to February 13, and at the
Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh
, from March 17 to June 6.
In addition to Pironti (the only non-English), they were made by
Jenny Saville, Clara Drummond, Peter Kuhfeld, Stuart Pearson Wright, Ishbel Myerscough and Paul Benney.
The Italian painter was awarded the portrait of
Arek Hersh
, born in Sieradz in Poland in 1928 and a survivor of the Nazi concentration camps.
The initiative also includes the documentary 'Survivors: Portraits of the Holocaust', which will air on the BBC on January 27, Memorial Day.