o Ian j enter Partrich rescues historic Israeli photographs. Prime Minister and Defense Minister David Ben-Gurion peifirming a. headstand, Sharon Hotel Beach, Herzliya, :Sept. 20, 1957 SUZANNE CHESSLER Special to the Jewish News Ito eal estate developer Spencer Partrich has turned photos into an artistic interest and active hobby. While Partrich finds pleasure in collecting the works of noted 20th-century photogra- phers, he also enjoys taking pictures of his family and documenting important times in their lives. Partrich, whose photo art collection includes images by Henri Cartier-Bresson and Edward Weston, consid- ers a snapshot he took in Israel among his personal favorites. A seaside scene of two boys jumping off a wall into the water holds symbolic value. "I captured the boys in midair, and to me, that rep- resents the movement and excitement of Israel," says Partrich, who has advanced from a 35-millimeter Nikon to a digital Sony. "I've always been enamored of still pictures, the freezing of moments in time." Another seaside image taken by the late news pho- tographer Paul Goldman (1900-1986) has joined the Partrich collection and is being shared with the public. It shows former Israeli Prime Minister David Ben- Gurion standing on his head at Herzliya Beach in 1957. The Ben-Gurion photo is among 100 historic scenes from Israel on view Feb. 3-March 20 at the Janice Charach Espstein Gallery in West Bloomfield. These pictures were found in the apartment of Goldman's widow, Dina, and daughter, Medina Goldman Ortsman, and came to Partrich's attention through a friend. As a collector, Partrich saw their artis- tic value and decided to fund their restoration and pro- mote exhibits of them. The pictures, brought together as "The Forgotten Photographs: The Work of Paul Goldman from 1943- 1961, from the Collection of Spencer M. Partrich," were first on display at the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv. They comprise only a small segment of 40,000 negatives stored in the Goldman family kitchen and now being restored at Partrich's direction. "These pictures show the people of Israel between 1943 and 1961, and they are all very exciting to see," says Partrich, co-founder and partner of Lautrec Ltd. in Farmington Hills. "This is history and art mixed together, and I feel the collection is significant to my life as a Jew. Seeing the faces of the people becomes very moving, and the expressions stand out. "Paul Goldman did not have a private agenda when IN t 1/27 MOMENTS IN TIME on page 28 2005 25