Inspiring kindness in the world through art

Israel Tsvaygenbaum views what is happening in Israel as a painful reminder of his own family history. His father was 29 when he fled Poland in 1939 to escape the Nazis. The remaining family members were murdered in Auschwitz-Birkenau. "I have always reflected in my paintings the theme of the Holocaust and, in general, human tragedy, the loss of people close to us," said the Russian-American artist, whose work representing the magic realism art movement is known throughout the world.

Tsvaygenbaum has worked to find comfort and purpose in his artwork. In our interview, he cited three works that...