Butterfly Boy Bronze Statue Unveiled at Jane Bancroft Cook Library

On Thursday afternoon, January 28, a large and reverent group gathered in the Jane Bancroft Cook Library at New College of Florida to witness the unveiling of the bronze statue, “Butterfly Boy” by sculptor Sidney Fagin.  Commemorating the children lost in the Holocaust, the 42 inch-high statue was installed outside the entrance to the Dr. Helen H. Fagin Holocaust, Genocide and Humanitarian Studies Collection room at the library.

The name of the sculpture, “Butterfly Boy,” was inspired by a 1942 poem written by young Pavel Friedmann during his incarceration in the Terezin Concentration Camp, prior to his deportation to Auschwitz and his ultimate death at the hands of the Nazis. “The last, the very last; So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellow,” he wrote.  “….that butterfly was the last one.  Butterflies don’t live in here, in the ghetto.”  In the sculpture, a delicate golden butterfly rests lightly on the boy’s outstretched hands. On his chest is a yellow Star of David.

The event was sponsored by the New College Library Association, which raises funds to support the Cook Library, a shared resource of New College and the University of South Florida, Sarasota-Manatee.

Sidney Fagin worked on the sculpture in clay for many months, refining it in preparation for its bronzing by the Bronzart Foundry, which made a generous contribution toward making the statue a reality, as did many other members of the community. Bronzart Foundry owner and master craftsman Rick Frignoca served as a guiding light for Sidney Fagin in the months leading up to its final patination. Frignoca helped with the armature and even researched the exact kind of butterfly that would have lived in the Czech countryside at that time.

“I feel great pride that New College paid me the honor of accepting this sculpture as an addition to the Helen Fagin Holocaust Collection,” says Sidney Fagin.  “It is a token of sharing in our commitment to raising awareness in moral humanitarian values.”

The program was introduced by Brian Doherty, Dean of the Cook Library, followed by remarks by Helen Fagin.  After thanking New College, supporters Sally Lucke-Elkes and Joel Elkes, Martin and Barbara Arch, Martin and Arlene Rakitt and Rick Frignoca, Helen turned to her husband of 61 years.

“The greatest kudos for the creation of Butterfly Boy goes to Sidney Fagin,” she said.  “He imbued the statue with true feeling, and created something which we hope would teach the moral lessons of the Holocaust.  I hope that this statue will serve as a learning tool to generations of New College students, and be the voice of the 1.5 million children who were not able to realize their dreams and whose lives were cut off by prejudice and an idealistic, pernicious hatred.

“I hope that Butterfly Boy will help students generate a moral compass for their own lives,” continued Fagin, who endured over five years of Nazi persecution.  “Just as from a butterfly emerges a new form of life, so too, each new generation offers a new beginning, a renewal of life, and a promise of new hope for our humanity.”

Sidney Fagin was born in New Haven, CT and grew up in Brooklyn, NY.  His studies at City College of New York were interrupted by his WWII service in the US Air Force.  He later graduated City College with a degree in accounting and business administration. After marrying Helen, the couple moved to Miami, FL in 1951, where Sidney found his niche in development and building hospitals.  Influenced by a fellow worker who was a sculptor, Sidney began experimenting with small pieces in the 1950s, culminating in eclectic sculpture in different media – bronze, stone, marble, alabaster, wood and hydrocal.

The library continues to welcome donations of funds and books so that the Holocaust Collection can continue to grow.  For further information, contact the New College Library Association at (941) 487-4600.

The Butterfly

The Last, the very last

So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellow.

Perhaps if the sun’s tears would sing against a white stone…

Such, such a yellow is carried lightly ‘way up high.

It went away I’m sure because it

Wished to kiss the world goodbye.

For seven weeks I’ve lived in here,

Penned up inside this ghetto

But I have found my people here.

The dandelions call to me and the

White chestnut candles in the court.

Only I never saw another butterfly.

That butterfly was the last one.

Butterflies don’t live in here,

In the ghetto.

Pavel Friedmann, April 6, 1942