Author overwhelmed by public’s assistance
An author was overwhelmed by the volume of help he received to find artwork by a woman who was interned in Bermuda during the Second World War.
Horst Augustinovic said he received almost a dozen responses the day after The Royal Gazette highlighted his mission to find pieces by German artist and writer Gabriele Humbert Parker to include in his book, A Fascinating Life.
The book chronicles Dr Parker’s life and work, from her birth in Turkey in 1898 to her experience while interned at Huntley Towers in Paget and the barracks in St George’s during the Second World War, to essays and speeches that she wrote on various topics.
Despite finding 14 cartons full of Dr Parker’s writings in the Bermuda Archives, Mr Augustinovic found very few paintings, as he believed many were destroyed after she died in 1980.
He explained: “Dr and Mr Parker’s house was sold in the mid-1980s, and the story was at the time that somebody took the paintings and burnt them in the garden, which is a tragedy.”
Gabriele Humbert was born in Constantinople, Turkey, to German parents in 1898.
She earned a PhD from the University of Göttingen in Germany and won a Fellowship at Hunter College in New York in 1930.
She taught German at Vassar College, also in New York, from 1931 until 1938, then moved to Bermuda to be with her husband, Harry Parker.
Dr Parker helped to establish the Bermuda Art Society after being interned on the island during the Second World War and was active in the Bermuda Philosophical Society, the 19th Century Club and the SPCA.
She also chaired the Warwick Welfare Society, was The Royal Gazette’s art correspondent and served as president of the Altrusa Club for three years.
Dr Parker died in 1980.
Others have since helped Mr Augustinovic find about 20 pieces that were not destroyed.
He said: “Seven people submitted her paintings, which was encouraging, and others were friends with her and just wanted to talk about her, which was also very helpful.
“One woman in St George’s had four of her paintings, another had three and someone else had ten Christmas cards that Dr Parker painted, which surprised me totally.
“Now I have two beautiful paintings of hers; I have to find space to hang them up.
“Thank you to everyone from my heart [for these submissions], that made my day, and I’m sure that other people will be coming forward.”
A Fascinating Life also has information about almost 100 other European immigrants who were interned in Bermuda during the war.
Mr Augustinovic explained: “This book covers, for the first time in depth, what happened with prisoners of war and internees during the Second World War; because the files were all closed until I received permission from the [Bermuda] Archives last year.”
The book — 400 copies of which are scheduled to arrive on the island next month — will be for sale at Brown & Co and the Bermuda Book Store for $35.
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