If you had to carry what mattered to you most on a forced march of unknown length across a wintry landscape, would you choose your works of art or food, water and warm clothing? That’s the real-life decision faced by Lt. Carl. H. Holmstrom (1917-1979) in January 1945 as a prisoner of war in Nazi Germany. This difficult journey forced an impossible choice.

Holmstrom chose to carry the visual record he’d made of his 28 months in captivity, and Ball & Socket Arts in Cheshire celebrates that decision, and honors Veterans Day, with the exhibition, “Stalag Survivor: The Art of Carl H. Holmstrom,” on view from Oct. 18 to Nov. 24, 2024. Included with the exhibition at Ball & Socket’s Workshop Gallery (493 W. Main St., Bldg. 3) will be the sketches, finished drawings and watercolors from Holmstrom’s time in captivity, mostly at Stalag Luft III, the site of the legendary Great Escape. 

Holmstrom, a Cheshire resident, survived his 28 months as a POW by recording his impressions in charcoal, paint and pencil on whatever paper he could scavenge. Contextual maps and information will accompany the digital reproductions of his striking images that capture the daily life and harrowing ordeals of soldiers incarcerated during World War II.

The exhibition will feature excerpts from Alan Bisbort’s long-form article, along with quotations from Carl Holmstrom’s original self-published book, Kriegie Life, and high-quality reproductions of his visual art documenting the camp. A mini-documentary by Grady Hearn and Mike Nagy, exploring the legacy of artmaking & the life of Carl Holmstrom’s son, John Holmstrom, (another Cheshire resident & the creator of Punk magazine), will be released in tandem with the exhibition.