FEBRUARY 23 • 2023 | 57

ARTS&LIFE
PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT

J

udy Glickman Lauder has devot-
ed considerable time throughout 
her life to photographic interests 
introduced by her father — from taking 
pictures to collecting them — and is 
glad to be sharing impressive images 
with the public.
Michigan audiences now can see a 
range of some 145 examples, by 70 cam-
era artists, representing her almost 700 
photos. They join together in the exhibit 
Presence: The Photography Collection 
of Judy Glickman Lauder, displayed 
through April 29 at the Grand Rapids 
Art Museum (GRAM). 
The exhibit, which includes a few 
photos she has taken, gets its title from 
what unites the variety of works — the 
presence of the photographers, subjects 
and viewers. Lauder explained this as 
she introduced the scenes being shown 
and the artists who perpetuated them. 
Lauder visited Grand Rapids in early 
February to highlight the programming 
and was reminded of her long ago visit 
to Michigan in attendance at her broth-
er’s marriage to Lois Adler. 
“These images all have a presence,
” 

said Lauder, the wife of Leonard A. 
Lauder, emeritus chairman of the Estée 
Lauder Companies and also an art 
enthusiast and collector. “They’re all 
about humanity. They’re all about an 
inner presence, a special moment in his-
tory. They’re things that people can real-
ly relate to and children can learn from. 
“
A lot of history is in the collection, 
and I love the Grand Rapids museum 
and meeting Dana Friis-Hansen, the 
director. I’m terribly excited about com-
ing and meeting people and speaking 
and getting a chance to know a lot more 
people in Grand Rapids.
”
Lauder, active in the Reform Jewish 
community and the mother of three rab-
bis, has included a group of Holocaust 
remembrance images as an important 
part of the displayed photos that also 
feature personal, political and commu-
nity subjects. One dramatic piece is a 
reflection of a woman viewing an oven 
at Auschwitz. 
Even though Lauder grew up in 
California, all of her family is from 
Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine, so 

Bohušovice 
Train Station at 
Theresienstadt 
Concentration 
Camp, 
Czechoslovakia, 
1991, gelatin sil-
ver print,. Judy 
Glickman Lauder, 
photographer

JUDY GLICKMAN LAUDER

Judy Glickman Lauder displays 
her photography collection at 
Grand Rapids Art Museum.

Life in Black and White

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

continued on page 58
Judy Glickman Lauder